You may be aware of my opinions on that Thatcher piece of art at the Assembly which is set to be unveiled on the 21st of May. You can read the story here, and make up your own mind on it. I personally don't see why we should be giving Thatcher any legitimacy in the new Wales. The existence of the National Assembly can be largely attributed to the decimation she and her government administered over Welsh communities and the fact that sufficient political will was generated to ensure that Wales would never be fully exposed to a future Tory Westminster government.
The new Wales is supposed to be about moving away from the Thatcherism of the two main UK parties, which is alien to the political values of our nation. What is the purpose of placing a statute of Thatcher in the building that is supposed to symbolise the re-birth of our nation?
I understand the concept behind the display. That doesn't mean that I have to agree with it. I perhaps wouldn't mind so much if this was done in a sensitive way e.g placed on display in a room filled with other pieces of art, or portraits of other political leaders. I may have been less disturbed than when I heard that it was going to be displayed at the front of the Senedd, but nevertheless it has been given the go-ahead.
We had a lively discussion on the Richard Evans phone in on Friday about this very issue, and it has obviously polarised opinions quite substantially. I did find it quite ironic, however, that Jenny Randerson AM told me on air (she was on the panel of AMs that commissioned the display) that my opinions 'were dangerous', when the main reason why she supported the art display was to encourage free speech!
I think this venture on behalf of the Assembly will backfire on the Institution quite frankly. Hardly anyone from the South Wales Valleys will come to the Senedd, view the display and think 'Oh, that's why we need a Referendum on a Parliament for Wales.' They will be angered, they will be upset, they will question why we made such a decision in the first place. Her very presence legitimizes her appalling legacy in Wales. I feel strongly that this is a massive own goal and shows grave insensitivity to former miners and their families, and whole coalfield communities, who suffered under the Thatcher government.
Some of the people who phoned in said they would organise a protest at the Assembly. It will definitely make people 'confront their demons', but was this what the artist really had in mind?
5 comments:
Bethan.
I agree with you %100 about Thatchers statue. She and her Government brought total misery to the the coal mining areas of Wales for which we still haven't recovered and she will never be forgiven for it.
There are a couple of interesting points which those in the Labour Party and Union movements conveniently forget about though.
More pits were closed under a Labour Government with Harold Wilson as Prime Minister in the 1960s, than were ever closed under Thatcher. You can refer too a report by Ben Curtis(University of Glamorgan)22 July 2006. Closures and Consequences. The Effect of Government Policy on South Wales Coal Industry 1964-1970.
Also another interesting point the massive closure of the railways by Beeching was also approved and implemented by that same Government under Barbara Castle as Transpot Minister.
Makes you wonder doesn't it.
You may wish to remind Jenny Randerson AM who regards you views as 'dangerous' of the situation I found myself under Thatcher's government. I was unable to attend a demonstration in London due to being detained by police on the hard shoulder of the M4 for six hours, was arrested on the Rhigos mountain road for "conspiracy" to unlawfully assemble, had some cash destined for food parcels sequestrated, was evicted from a building in Pontypridd which was paid for by my own contributions, and then to top it all was branded the 'enemy within' by that very same Thatcher which is being displayed as an icon of 'free speech' in the Senedd. Shame on the Senedd for even entertaining the idea of displaying this. Thatcher had no respect for the 'free speech' of the people of Wales at the time, so why should her image be displayed in our Senedd ?
When I heard on Radio Wales on Friday that Margaret Thatcher was going to have her image on our Senydd I really thought it was a joke.....I thought no way can they put that woman on our Senydd or even in our Senydd. It will in my eyes taint the whole ethos of what the Senydd stands for......FREEDOM for the Welsh people. She did and still does not have a clue about what we are all about and how passionate we are about our history and culture. Who came up with this idea........a Welshman or woman!!! For crying out loud. WHAT IS GOING ON!!! Have I slipped into a parallell universe.
I do understand the 'dark' and 'light' of the art piece but for goodness sake just to have her image in there or on there is an insult to the Welsh people. What I don't understand is why we should have to look at that face everytime we go up to the Senydd. It would just make me feel very angry not proud and I would avoid the place like the plague.
Also if by the slimmest chance that this should go ahead.... will she have the honour to unveil it !!!!!!!!!!!!
Interestingly, Adam Price MP has stated that in the event of a hung parliament after the next General Election, Plaid should be prepared to prop up the Tories in Parliament if it was "in the interests of Wales" echoing the coments of the leader of the Scottish Nationalists, Alex Salmond who has made similar comments.
And talking of the "New Wales", why will no Assembly Members oppose the £14 billion of our taxes being wasted on building a huge, privatised Military Academy being built at St Athan run by companies like RAYTHEON who manufacture cluster-bombs that blow kids limbs off? - Raytheon has been banned by Liverpool Council, Norwegian and Belgian Governments but welcomed to Wales by our politicians. It seems that there's always a blank cheque for war, but no blank cheque to pay for hospitals, to eliminate child-poverty, students education, to keep schools open etc.
http://www.cynefinywerin.org.uk/index.php?docid=265
You may wish to remind Alun Cairns AM that last week was the anniversary of the Säuberung in Nazi Germany, the book burning that did not correspond with the Naxi ideology. Interestingly, such an event has only occurred once in the United Kingdom in recent history, and it was instigated by Thatcher. Maggie was the prime minister that, personally tried to censor live broadcasts by the BBC during the Libyan bombings, banned books such as Spycatcher, tried to prevent the broadcast of ITV documentaries such as 'Death on the Rock', and at one point called for the resignation of the Director General of the BBC over content issues. If some AMs wish to make the argument that having an icon of Thatcher in the Senedd is a matter of 'free speech' and "propagates debate" or that "Thatcher left her mark on the era" then there would be an equally good case for having a statue of Adolf Hitler displayed in the lobby of the newly refurbished European Commission building in Brussels. He certainly made his mark across Europe! I doubt very much if anyone would entertain such an idea, in London or Brussels, so why is it the Senedd in Cardiff is being required to accept an image of a UK prime minister which Wales did not vote for, was wholeheartedly rejected by the Welsh people, and did so much damage to the culture and people of Wales ?
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