The CPS event “Margaret Thatcher’s legacy for modern conservatism” received two mentions in The Times’ diary section.
Gnat quip returns to bite
Blue-on-blue attacks continue. First Sir John Major, now Robin Harris, former head of the Tory Research Department and ghost-writer of Lady Thatcher’s memoirs, who told the Centre for Policy Studies that “the Prime Minister has the attention span of a gnat”. The PM cannot complain; according to a biography he once made the same derogatory remark about all women after one told him that she preferred tennis to cricket.
Right to fly
Margaret Thatcher was not for turning, and nor was she for holidaying. As Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, Cecil Parkinson was asked by the Queen to persuade Mrs Thatcher to take a break in 1982, he recalled at the Centre for Policy Studies.
“Ma’am, the Prime Minister thinks that only lazy people have holidays,” he told Her Majesty.
“If you tell her she should take a proper holiday, so will I,” the Queen insisted.
“Ma’am, it’s easier for you than me,” Parkinson replied. “I work for her. She works for you.”
Watch the full event below:
Date Added: Friday 15th November 2013
