In the week that has seen the death of an 87 year old former Prime Minister and as we anticipate a ceremonial funeral that only academics can explain as being different from a state funeral, the Charts have been overtaken by two ironic musical items.
The opponents of Baroness Thatcher and her values have thrown their lot in with a song from the Wizard of Oz ‘Ding Dong the Witch is Dead’ sung by the munchkins from the film. The financial benefit of this song reaching the charts will all go to an American Corporation owned by Rupert Murdoch, himself a great fan of the Iron Lady. Earlier this week Andrew Neil revealed to listeners of the Radio 4 media show how Mrs Thatcher ensured that Rupert Murdochs operations in Wapping were protected by the Metropolitan Police.
Meanwhile the supporters of Mrs T have decided to adopt ‘I’m in love with Mrs Thatcher’ as their musical theme. The song is by Punk Band the Notsensibles from Burnley, one of the many Nothern Towns to be devastated by the economic policies of the Thatcher Government. The Band are delighted at the second renaissance of the record which was originally written as a light-hearted satirical attack on the Iron Lady. The previous resurgence of the record came as a result of its inclusion in the film the Iron Lady in 2011 which included the music as part of its soundtrack. This film was seen as offensive by many of Mrs Thatchers supporters, portraying her in a condition which was not seen as sympathetic.
The BBC have decided to partially ban Ding Dong from Sundays Chart Show, largely due to outrage expressed by a number of high profile Thatcher supporters, despite the fact that her core philosophy was to allow free markets to find their level. Apparently no one is complaining about the Nonsensicals song, but there is still time!
On the funeral itself there was reported a Daily Mail poll which showed that 84% of respondents felt the event should not be funded by the public purse. Mysteriously the Mail have chosen not to publicise this information. Some estimates suggest the event will cost £10M but Francis Maude denied this on Fridays BBC Any Questions on Radio 4. He suggested the costs will only be a fraction of that figure, however he could not be persuaded to offer any estimates of how much the day will cost us all despite several attempts by David Dimbleby. A further irony is of course that at a time of austerity, the State which both Mrs Thatcher and David Cameron are commited to shrinking, is being asked to fund this event and a rather unecessary recall of Parliament which could easily have been avoided.
ianchisnall 
I think regardless of whether you liked Thatcher or not, paying for her funnel from the public purse is just criminal given the current financial situation. There are so many things that the money could be used for. It just seems so stupid to me. It’s like certain people that I have come across who spend 20,000 on a wedding and then have no deposit on a house. Just nonsensical. That the majority of the people don’t want us to pay for her funnel, just makes the crime even worst.
I agree David, in the light of a private institution creating a library and museum, they could have been expected to have saved the state from paying for such a lavish event. Francis Maude argues that the State always provides funerals for ex-PMs but of course the size and extent of such events should match the ability of the state to pay in the context of its time.
Sadly what politicians seem to fail to recognise is the growingbdivisions within UK society. This is something they need to manage as part of their responsibilities. If they fail to manage this convincingly then discontent leads to a fracture, fracture will produce social unrest. All economically successful democracies rely on cohesion. The reaction to Maggie’s death perhaps demonstrates the fracture and where it lies. The normal response to someone’s death is respect; this is why this for me is significantly worrying. Thanks for a great piece of writing, Ian
Many thanks Micha, I agree, its as though the more processes and mechanisms that are created for listening and hearing, the less carefully any of them listen to the words that do get through. Clearly the media increasingly shout louder as their circulation figures drop.