No sooner does one right-wing conference end than another one begin. Next up it’s the “Margaret Thatcher Conference on Opportunity” organised by the Centre for Policy Studies (CPS). Entering its seventh year, the bash is set for June 12 at the Guildhall, with headline appearances from Education Secretary Gillian Keegan and the chief sword-bearer herself Penny Mordaunt.
Keegan will be the opening act at 12:45, with Mordaunt hitting the stage later in the afternoon for a conversation with US polling guru Frank Luntz and CPS Director Rob Colvile. Guido also spots the Resolution Foundation’s Torsten Bell will be appearing on a panel as the token left-winger, preparing to beat the drum for higher welfare payments in front of a sea of Thatcherites. The Speccie’s Kate Andrews will be chairing the panel to stop him boring the audience to death. No sign of the country’s most well-known Maggie tribute act yet – did Liz’s invite get lost in the post?
Having just been cleared by ACoBa to join the lucrative post-Prime Ministerial speaker circuit, Liz Truss has signed with the Chartwell Speakers agency and immediately booked a big gig: she’ll be delivering the 2023 Margaret Thatcher Freedom Lecture for the the Heritage Foundation on April 12. Obviously…
Co-conspirators can sign up virtually here. A spokesperson for Truss tells Guido she’ll be flying to Washington DC to deliver the speech in person. As for what to expect, the Heritage Foundation promises all the greatest hits:
“Reducing the size of the state and rejecting leftist orthodoxy are also crucial to delivering the prosperity that will ensure the forces of freedom can prevail against authoritarian regimes. These are the themes that former British Prime Minister Liz Truss will take up as she delivers the 2023 Margaret Thatcher Freedom Lecture.
Her Chartwell profile lists her as a “champion of economic growth across the Free World” and a “Leading Global Conservative Politician”. Her demo reel gives prospective clients an idea of what to expect; one of the top videos is her post-resignation “I didn’t get everything right” interview with the Spectator…
Happy International Women’s Day. Every year, Guido looks back on the groundbreaking strides our leading political parties have made in female representation over the last few decades. This year is particularly special, as this is the first International Women’s Day since the UK added its third female Prime Minister to the scoreboard. It still counts.
Of course this does mean the Tories have provided all three lady PMs. Still, at least almost all the other parties have elected a female leader by now. Here are the trailblazers:
- Conservative Party, Margaret Thatcher, 1975
- Green Party, Jean Lambert, 1992
- Welsh Nationalists, Leanne Wood, 2012
- Scottish Nationalists, Nicola Sturgeon, 2014
- Democratic Unionist Party, Arlene Foster, 2015
- UKIP, Diane James, 2016
- Liberal Democrats, Jo Swinson, 2019
- Labour Party, NA, NA
Almost every party. Almost.
After surviving three vandalism attacks in the last two weeks, Maggie’s statue in her hometown of Grantham was formally unveiled this afternoon. So far, the statue has been pelted with eggs, doused in paint, and covered in coffee. Still it survives. By coincidence, 1922 committee chair Sir Graham Brady sat in the audience. All smiles, giving away nothing…
Kemi Badenoch dropped a major hint that we could soon get an official Margaret Thatcher day. Responding to a question from Sheryll Murray asking for one, equalities minister Badenoch replied:
“I would personally be very supportive of a Margaret Thatcher day, though I think that is more a question from the Prime Minister than myself.”
Guido has asked No. 10 for their view…
Murray’s question seems perfectly sound. Down in the Falklands the residents are proud celebrators of Maggie, celebrating Margaret Thatcher Day every January 10th, with a bust and even Thatcher Drive in capital Stanley. There’s a template and no reason not to, let’s get it sorted ahead of next January…
Liz Truss is in Moscow and in the Guy newsroom we were betting this morning that she would cosplay Maggie once again. In Liz we trust and she never lets us down: the outfit she is wearing perfectly reprises Margaret Thatcher’s outfit worn to Moscow in 1987. Though Guido can’t imagine Maggie wearing faux fur…
She met with her Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov to discuss the situation in Ukraine. Striking an Iron Lady-ish tone she warned
“I’m visiting Moscow to urge Russia to pursue a diplomatic solution and make clear that another Russian invasion of a sovereign state would bring massive consequences for all involved. Russia has a choice here. We strongly encourage them to engage, de-escalate and choose the path of diplomacy.”
Really do think a brooch would just have set off the outfit perfectly…
