Starmer insists he’s no Thatcher ‘fan boy’, saying she did ‘terrible things’
The Labour leader struck a different tone in Scotland after his apparent praise of the former Tory prime minister.
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Sir Keir Starmer has sought to calm the criticism of his perceived praise for Margaret Thatcher by telling a Scottish audience that she did “terrible things”.
The Labour leader insisted he is no fan of the former Conservative prime minister and said that he “profoundly disagrees” with some of her actions.
He said she did “huge damage” across the UK, particularly in Scotland – days after listing her as among former leaders who delivered “meaningful change”.
In an article for the Conservative-supporting Sunday Telegraph, he said Baroness Thatcher had sought to “drag Britain out of its stupor by setting loose our natural entrepreneurialism”.
The attempt to appeal to traditional Tory voters fell flat with some Labour supporters and he was mocked by Conservative MPs as a Thatcher “fan boy” in the Commons.
But asked whether he was a fan at a Scottish Labour gala dinner in Glasgow on Thursday evening, he said: “No, absolutely not.”
The comments, heard on an audio recording, were met with applause by the audience in Scotland, where the former Tory leader’s privatisation agenda hit particularly hard.
“She did terrible things, particularly here in Scotland which everybody in this room, myself included, profoundly disagrees with,” Sir Keir said.
“The point I was trying to make in a piece that we penned last week was that there are some political leaders who have a mission, a plan, that they implement.
“Attlee of course, was one of them, the ‘New Jerusalem’. Thatcher, whether you liked her or you didn’t like her, you couldn’t say she didn’t have a plan, or a mission.
“You can say someone has a mission and a plan and disagree profoundly with them.”
Baroness Thatcher won three general elections in her 11-year reign, but remains a divisive figure, including over the agenda of privatisation that saw the decline of industries such as coal and steel.
Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar did not repeat Sir Keir’s supportive comments this week, instead describing Baroness Thatcher as a “destructive force for our country”.