Basildon Council mulls Thatcher statue bid
Wednesday 13 February 2013
Printable
EmailA statue of ailing ex-PM Maggie Thatcher could soon end up on an estate in Basildon after her home town gave it the two fingers.
Grantham claimed it would be a "dubious honour" to put Neil Simmons's £150,000 marble sculpture on display.
But Tory-controlled Basildon Council, best known for spending £8 million to kick 100 traveller families out of their Dale Farm homes, appears to be happy to have it.
A council spokesman told the Morning Star it was an off-the-cuff remark after a meeting that sparked off the news and he stressed the council would not pay for it.
The statue was unveiled in 2002 but decapitated later that year. It was later restored.
It was attacked by theatre producer Paul Kelleher with a cricket bat and then a metal stanchion and he was jailed for three months.
If you appreciated this article then please consider donating to the Morning Star's Fighting Fund to ensure we can keep developing your paper.
Editorial
Hands off our postal service
A government guided by common sense would respond to news that publicly owned Royal Mail has increased profits to £403 million by scrapping plans to flog off the service.
Features
Trade unionists will keep fighting for Wales
Wales TUC president sets out the achievements of Welsh workers over the past year - and looks to the battles ahead
Dirty wars
Interview with Jeremy Scahill, author of a chilling new exposé of the US's worldwide war without end