It may have been a week since Grantham residents were surprised by the appearance of the long-awaited statue of Margaret Thatcher, but the dust still shows no signs of settling.
After a difficult four-year process, the 300,000-pound statue was quietly placed on its 10-foot plinth last Sunday morning, with few people around, and laid with eggs for hours.
The statue still provokes strong reactions from passers-by, with some stopping to take selfies and others stopping to turn their finger on it, even though its bronze resemblance was without eggs.
Molly Topham to the statue of Margaret Thatcher. Photo: John Robertson / Guardian
“It’s very controversial, I’ve read so many comments about it on social media,” said Molly Topham, 25, as she walked past the statue on her way to work. “I don’t think she deserved to be an egg, but everyone has to express their own feelings.
“I can understand why she is there, she was the first woman prime minister and she is from Grantham. But could the money have gone for something better? That’s a lot of money when we’re desperate for other things like shopping. ”
A local man, speaking on condition of anonymity, said he strongly opposed the statue and expected it to be further vandalized.
“I don’t like it and I don’t like the statue being erected. It should not be put on a pedestal, “he said. “I do not expect it to stay that long. I think someone will come and do whatever they want with him. She has such strong feelings about it, she is so divisive. “
But there were many people in the city who were happy that the statue was finally in place, and they were angry that it was an egg.
Joy Brown (who is campaigning for Margaret Thatcher) was photographed by her friend Katrina Glover next to the statue of the former prime minister on St. Peter’s Hill. Photo: John Robertson / Guardian
“I have two teenagers and I’m glad the statue is there so they can see. That’s part of Grantham’s story, “said Katrina Glover, who visited the statue with her friend Joy Brown, a former Thatcher activist. “I think it looks very nice up there, this is where it should be and I hope God stays there.”
“I think it’s right for Grantham to celebrate,” said Les Larg, 72, of nearby Stamford. “She is the first female leader we have ever had and the only one so far. I don’t think he should be vandalized. “
There have been no more reports of eggs since the first day Jeremy Webster, deputy director of the Attenborough Center for the Arts at the University of Leicester, was identified as an egg-thrower.
After years of talking about it, many have speculated that the statue may never see the light of day. “Until about a month ago, I thought there was a good chance they would bottle it up because of the reaction they no doubt knew they would get,” said Lee Steptoe, a Labor leader in the South Queveston District Council. “Thatcher’s legacy still completely divides the city, especially among people aged 50 and over.
The statue’s journey to its plinth in Grantham’s heart began in 2018, when the Westminster council rejected a proposal to place the statue in central London, fearing it would attract vandalism and protests.
It was quickly approved by the planning committee in her hometown of Lincolnshire, but controversy and failure ensued. There was outrage when the local council decided in 2020 to order an unveiling ceremony for the £ 100,000 statue, prompting them to abandon the idea.
Visitors to Thatcher’s corner of the Grantham Museum, near the statue of the former prime minister on St. Peter’s Hill. Photo: John Robertson / Guardian
Steptoe said he had no problem commemorating Thatcher, but said the statue served as a “temple” for the late leader. “There is no experience in this city of Tori, where I have lived all my life, to actually strike an equal balance,” he said.
The statue is located in St Peter’s Hill Park, a few yards from a statue of fellow Grantham alumnus Sir Isaac Newton, but there are calls for it to be moved to the Grantham Museum.
In the museum, just a stone’s throw from the statue, there is an exhibition dedicated to Thatcher, which attracts tourists from around the world.
“The main attraction is Margaret,” said Nick Jones, the museum’s trustee. “I would like to say that this is the exhibition of Isaac Newton, but he does not introduce them. Only last week we had people from Italy, Hong Kong, Singapore. This is quite surprising for the people in Grantham, they are struggling to understand this.
Steptoe said Thatcher’s legacy will always evoke strong emotions in the city, but looking back on the past distracts from current issues.
“It simply came to our notice then. He’s not going anywhere. “Reviewing and deepening the division of the 1980s will do nothing for local people,” he said.
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