THE THATCHER TRILOGY (Pt 2) - poem

THE THATCHER TRILOGY - Part 2

Power corrupts and absolute power…

On winning the Poll, Mrs T.,
First spouted some hot air,
On Faith and Hope, which were replaced
By Discord and Despair. (1)
Then Maggie claimed the people could,
Remove all their old chains;
And each become a Friedman if,
They spurned the Mark of Keynes!

She thus believed the market should,
Be wholly unrestrained;
As per the Milton (Friedman) ode,
His ‘Paradise Regained’.
And whilst he carried on as her,
Main economic muse;
She celebrated her success,
With lengthening dole queues.

Thus Maggie the Conservative,
Was pro the status quo;
Where those few who are born so high,
Are borne by those below.
And whilst her City friends rejoiced,
And toasted the good news;
Spouse Denis saw his shares increase,
As did his bill for booze!

Reality now disappeared,
And all was mere conceit;
The gods on Mount Olympus had,
To offer her a seat.
Then Geoffrey Howe strode to the crease,
With his old broken bat; (2)
And to the mirth of all the team,
Called out a firm, “Howe-zat”!

(1) Thatcher’ first speech on winning the 1979 Election:
“Where there is discord, may we bring harmony. Where there
is error, may we bring truth. Where there is doubt, may we
bring faith. And where there is despair, may we bring hope”.
St Francis of Assisi.

(2) Geoffrey Howe’s resignation speech, prior to
Thatcher’s downfall, likened her support to being
like a cricket captain breaking the team’s own bats.

© Richard Layton