I saw the film “Iron Lady” yesterday afternoon, and was taken by its documentary-style and uncannily believable protrayal of Baroness Thatcher by Miss Streep.
I remember the period as a student, the despair at the queues at graduate jobs fairs, the lack of opportunity for we new graduates evidenced by the rejection letters which papered the walls of our dwellings, but also the feeling of endeavour and progress once a ‘proper’ graduate placement had been found. I remember the student unrest, left wing agitation and intimidation of we conservative students, and picket lines. The rubbish piled in the street as a result of needless strikes.
I also remember the feeling of pride in our armed forces in the Falklands, and the dismay when Mrs Thatcher was toppled from power by disloyal pro-EU rivals, something the film shows very well.
Three things are relevant today from those years – one is the emphasis on endeavour for the individual, secondly the emphasis on commerce, and thirdly the call to Duty towards Nature in Baroness Thatcher’s speech on climate change in 1990.
Refocusing on these parameters will be an excellent guide for conduct in the future.
