Thatcher once quipped that her greatest legacy was Tony Blair, and her prodigy did not let her down. It appears he was on first name terms by the end:

“Very few leaders get to change not only the political landscape of their country but of the world. Margaret was such a leader. Her global impact was vast. And some of the changes she made in Britain were, in certain respects at least, retained by the 1997 Labour Government, and came to be implemented by governments around the world. As a person she was kind and generous spirited and was always immensely supportive to me as Prime Minister although we came from opposite sides of politics. Even if you disagreed with her as I did on certain issues and occasionally strongly, you could not disrespect her character or her contribution to Britain’s national life. She will be sadly missed.”

Cameron hit the right notes yesterday and deliberately put down the markers to try and compare what he is doing with the Eighties, but you could argue Tone laid on more charm. Is he the true heir to Thatcher?

This tribute from the Heritage Foundation says it all. Guido was also amused to see that it was the US version of Buzzfeed, not the  London office, who put together “Margaret Thatcher’s 19 Most Badass Moments”. Better late than never.

Denis Healey tells Rafael Behr…

“Thatcher was good-looking and brilliant”

This is what was scrawled down on the minutes of Maggie’s meeting with a group of Young Conservatives in 1982, released today. How things change…

H/T @jimrmanning

UPDATE: The Margaret Thatcher Foundation has confirmed that it was Ian Gow who penned the apt observation.

The US hasn’t always been staunch in standing with Britain over the Falklands. Even Reagan had to be handbagged by Thatcher to do the right thing.

Our friends in Washington have produced this history lesson for Obama…

Via Heritage Foundation.

The framed original artwork of Rich’s Monday Morning View is now available on eBay.

If you’re at your wits’ end come eight o’clock this evening then why not tune into Radio 4 to hear Ed Miliband in conversation with the Indy’s Steve Richards. Apparently not joking in his attempt to relaunch himself as a conviction politician, Ed tells Richards that he’s just like Maggie:

“She was a conviction politician and conviction really matters. In the 1970s, it was a similar moment, in the sense that an old order was crumbling and it wasn’t 100 per cent clear what was going to replace it. The challenge of the future is who can rise to the scale of challenge that the country faces and who can create a project for how this country’s going to be run that is genuinely going to make our economy work, not just for a few people but much more widely.”

A frightening thought…

The T shirts that refer to dancing on Thathcer's grave are no longer on sale after someone high up in the TUC had a word with the trader.—
Andy McSmith (@andymcsmith) September 11, 2012

Another victory for Maggie against the unions.

Talk about an awkward Ed Miliband moment. The Telegraph reports this morning that t-shirts bearing the slogan “Thatcher: a generation of trade unionists will dance on her grave” are being sold at the TUC congress in Brighton. Guido has also found sick so-called Thatcher “party packs” on sale for those inclined to celebrate the death of an old lady.

According to the seller they have been pretty popular:

Thatcher Party Packs selling well today at #tuc12 #istillhatethatcher—
Bookmarks Bookshop (@Bookmarks_books) September 10, 2012

While Labour types on twitter have issued heavily caveated criticisms, so far there has been no comment from Ed on the taunting of Lady T.

Being stuffed full of union cash does put him in quite a tricky position – hardly wants to upset his paymasters who are obviously keen on dancing on Maggie Thatcher’s grave.

But maybe there’s another reason he hasn’t condemned them…