• This is a political forum that is non-biased/non-partisan and treats every person's position on topics equally. This debate forum is not aligned to any political party. In today's politics, many ideas are split between and even within all the political parties. Often we find ourselves agreeing on one platform but some topics break our mold. We are here to discuss them in a civil political debate. If this is your first visit to our political forums, be sure to check out the RULES. Registering for debate politics is necessary before posting. Register today to participate - it's free!

Thatchers Funeral

Spriggs05

Spriggs05

Anarcho Facist
DP Veteran
Joined
Oct 14, 2012
Messages
1,428
Reaction score
854
Location
UK
Gender
Male
Political Leaning
Undisclosed
BBC News - Baroness Thatcher funeral invitation list released

All surviving former UK prime ministers
All surviving former US presidents
A representative of the family of former US President Ronald Reagan
Former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
All surviving members of Baroness Thatcher's cabinets
The current cabinet
Opposition leader Ed Miliband
European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso
Baroness Thatcher's former press secretary Sir Bernard Ingham and Lady Ingham
Author Frederick Forsyth
Former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad
A representative of Nelson Mandela


Some of those attending include:

Tony and Cherie Blair
Former South African President FW de Klerk
Singer Dame Shirley Bassey
Broadcaster and journalist Jeremy Clarkson
Lord and Lady Lloyd Webber
Lord and Lady Archer
Lord Powell of Bayswater
Lord Carrington
Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper
Former Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney
Michael and Carolyn Portillo
Broadcaster Sir Terry Wogan and Lady Helen Wogan
Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond


Among those not attending:

Ronald Reagan's widow Nancy is understood to be too frail to travel

Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev will not be attending due to health problems

Downing Street has confirmed that Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner will not be invited

Lord Kinnock - former Labour Leader of the Opposition - will not be present because of a commitment to attend the funeral of a former local councillor in Wales

Comedian Jim Davidson, a prominent Tory supporter during the 1980s, is understood not to have been invited
 
Spriggs05 said:
Among those not attending:

-- Downing Street has confirmed that Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner will not be invited.
Click to expand...

She might have sent Diego "Hand of God" Maradona in her place..

Spriggs05 said:
Comedian Jim Davidson, a prominent Tory supporter during the 1980s, is understood not to have been invited
Click to expand...

No surprise there, he's still under suspicion for sexual offences in the past.

Others I don't expect to see there:

Arthur Scargill

Gerry Adams

Glenda Jackson

USSR historian Vyacheslav Nikonov (still unhappy about her role in the fall of the USSR)
 
Glad the argies didnt get an invite
 
Obama has insulted the UK by not attending the funeral. At the very least (given current events) he should send Biden (if he can get there without getting lost). The Brits are our oldest and closest ally. This is a terrible message and I suspect we'll pay dearly for it at some point.
 
Large crowds, respectfully attending the funeral procession this morning, the military (what's left) are doing her and the country proud.

Nice to see a lot of young faces there too.
 
New York Post said:
Obama and Menendez snub Margaret Thatcher—Editorial - NYPOST.com

As the world bids farewell to Lady Margaret Thatcher today, it’s hard not to notice that America’s official presence at the state funeral for Britain's most significant prime minister since Winston Churchill will be underwhelming.

Instead of sending a high-ranking member of his own administration to lead the official delegation, President Obama has dispatched two former Republican secretaries of state, George Shultz and Jim Baker. Nothing against these men, but we can forgive the British for regarding Obama’s choice as yet another snub.

Suspicions will only be compounded by the ungracious action in the Senate, where Bob Menendez held up passage of what should have been a routine resolution honoring the Iron Lady. It appears the language praising Thatcher was too much for the New Jersey Democrat.

These aren’t the first awkward moments with Britain on Obama’s watch. There was the removal of the Churchill bust from the Oval Office; the iPod of Obama speeches given to the queen and the 25 DVDs bestowed on Gordon Brown after the then-prime minister had given Obama a carefully chosen pen set crafted from the timbers of a British naval ship that had served on anti-slavery missions off Africa.

What makes Washington’s little acts of thoughtlessness so telling is that they attract more attention than doing the right thing would. The Senate resolution would’ve gone unnoticed had not Menendez held it up; ditto for the funeral if Obama had simply sent someone from his own team.

Newspapers in Britain say friends and allies of Lady Thatcher have expressed their “surprise and disappointment.” So do we.
Click to expand...

I find it quite strange that America isn't being represented by a Senior Official from the Current US Administration, after all Thatcher stood side by side with President Reagan, she allowed the US to use airbases in Britain to bomb Gaddafi's Libya back in 1986 and backed American policy on many occasions during the Cold War. :shock: :confused:

Britain has also supported the Post 9/11 American led War on Terror with the loss 620 British Service Personnel so far and many thousands injured and horrible maimed. There are also a multitude of US intelligence and military bases in the UK, with constant talk of a 'special relationship', I think Thatcher's funeral clearly demonstrates just how special this relationship is to the current Obama Administration, as did the actions of Bob Menendez. :(
 
Last edited:
Chatter said:
I find it quite strange that America isn't being represented by a Senior Official from the Current US Administration, after all Thatcher stood side by side with President Reagan, she allowed the US to use airbases in Britain to bomb Gaddafi's Libya back in 1986 and backed American policy on many occasions during the Cold War. :shock: :confused:
Click to expand...

Reagan was a Republican, Obama a Democrat - their brands of politics are quite different. I don't think Thatcher and Obama would have gotten on together - even as I like Obama, I couldn't see him getting on with her or them working together successfully.

She would have handbagged him long ago..
 
Infinite Chaos said:
Reagan was a Republican, Obama a Democrat - their brands of politics are quite different. I don't think Thatcher and Obama would have gotten on together - even as I like Obama, I couldn't see him getting on with her or them working together successfully.

She would have handbagged him long ago..
Click to expand...

It doesn't matter what her political persuasion was, she was a British PM who stood by the US on many occasions. :shock:

Ted Kennedy wasn't everyone's cup of tea but when he died the British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and his wife Sarah Brown, both attended the funeral, and Ted Kennedy was never leader of the nation. Indeed I would have been annoyed if Britain hadn't sent a senior figure to Ted Kennedy's funeral :shock: :(
 
Last edited:
Chatter said:
It doesn't matter what her political persuasion was, she was a British PM who stood by the US on many occasions. :shock:

Ted Kennedy wasn't everyone's cup of tea but when he died the British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and his wife Sarah Brown, both attended the funeral, and Ted Kennedy was never leader of the nation. Indeed I would have been annoyed if Britain hadn't sent a senior figure to Ted Kennedy's funeral :shock: :(
Click to expand...

Yeah but we have our own standards - we can't judge everyone else by ours in such matters.

Anyhow, I also think Ted Kennedy would have been closer to Gordon Brown's political views so that may have been personal choice. Remember at the time Gordon Brown was desperately trying to ingratiate himself with the US.
 
Infinite Chaos said:
Yeah but we have our own standards - we can't judge everyone else by ours in such matters.

Anyhow, I also think Ted Kennedy would have been closer to Gordon Brown's political views so that may have been personal choice. Remember at the time Gordon Brown was desperately trying to ingratiate himself with the US.
Click to expand...

It's got nothing to do with political persuasion, when a great statesman or stateswoman dies they should be respected, and the correct protocol would have been to send a senior member of Government. Thatcher was a great ally to the Americans and was very popular with the American people. :)

BBC News - Margaret Thatcher: Why the US loved her
 
Last edited:
Woodman909 said:
Obama has insulted the UK by not attending the funeral. At the very least (given current events) he should send Biden (if he can get there without getting lost). The Brits are our oldest and closest ally. This is a terrible message and I suspect we'll pay dearly for it at some point.
Click to expand...

Yes We'll stop exporting beer and tea. ;)
 
Woodman909 said:
Obama has insulted the UK by not attending the funeral. At the very least (given current events) he should send Biden (if he can get there without getting lost). The Brits are our oldest and closest ally. This is a terrible message and I suspect we'll pay dearly for it at some point.
Click to expand...

Either Hilary Clinton or Biden would have done, nobody expected Obama to attend but we did expect a senior member of the current US Administration to attend. Still the Canadians and most other countries were well represented.:)
 
Chatter said:
It doesn't matter what her political persuasion was, she was a British PM who stood by the US on many occasions. :shock:

Ted Kennedy wasn't everyone's cup of tea but when he died the British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and his wife Sarah Brown, both attended the funeral, and Ted Kennedy was never leader of the nation. Indeed I would have been annoyed if Britain hadn't sent a senior figure to Ted Kennedy's funeral :shock: :(
Click to expand...

We should of sent some ira bomb victim's to ted Kennedy s funeral
 
I suspect Obama and Biden couldn't get away because of the Senate gun law vote. Obama and Biden would have been working extremely hard to persuade Senators to vote for the law, and Biden in particular has a casting vote should that be necessary.
 
Chatter said:
I find it quite strange that America isn't being represented by a Senior Official from the Current US Administration, after all Thatcher stood side by side with President Reagan, she allowed the US to use airbases in Britain to bomb Gaddafi's Libya back in 1986 and backed American policy on many occasions during the Cold War. :shock: :confused:

Britain has also supported the Post 9/11 American led War on Terror with the loss 620 British Service Personnel so far and many thousands injured and horrible maimed. There are also a multitude of US intelligence and military bases in the UK, with constant talk of a 'special relationship', I think Thatcher's funeral clearly demonstrates just how special this relationship is to the current Obama Administration, as did the actions of Bob Menendez. :(
Click to expand...

Don't Forget
America’s 41st president stayed at home to help his son — the 43rd president — open his presidential library.

George W. Bush has also refused his official invite, along with the two other living ex-leaders Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter.

Special Relationship debunked
 
Joechilli said:
Don't Forget
America’s 41st president stayed at home to help his son — the 43rd president — open his presidential library.

George W. Bush has also refused his official invite, along with the two other living ex-leaders Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter.

Special Relationship debunked
Click to expand...

Bush Snr & Jnr, Clinton and Carter are no longer part of a current Administration Representing the American people so are entitled to decline the invitation. The fact that the current Obama Administration which represents America and the American people on the global stage didn't send a Senior Political figure is a bit more controversial. :shock:

In terms of the so called special relationship it tends to be a one way street in favour of the US. :(

Britain's special relationship with US now 'in jeopardy' | UK | News | Daily Express

 
Last edited:
Joechilli said:
Don't Forget
America’s 41st president stayed at home to help his son — the 43rd president — open his presidential library.

George W. Bush has also refused his official invite, along with the two other living ex-leaders Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter.

Special Relationship debunked
Click to expand...

Clinton and Bush are private citizens at this point. Whether or not it would be considered polite to refuse an invite to the funeral is problematic. I would have gone.

Sending someone of sufficiently suitable rank, if not Obama hisself, seems to me to be a protocol slight.

However, Obama's record with UK is less than stellar. One of his early acts was the return of a bust of Churchill which has graced the WH for years. His official gifts have been insulting. Does the UK really need an IPOD loaded with his speeches. A box of old movies in a format not playable with British equipment?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom