[sophacles]

So your position is the world exists as a comic book, where a person is all good or all bad, and there are no in-betweens? Can't a person just be a person who does some good things, and some bad things, some deserving of respect and others being reprehensible perhaps (and others still being neutral or up for debate)?

[donohoe]

I hear what you're saying however that might not be a good example. I'm sure there are people who have good things to say about Hitler (perhaps he was nice to his mum, or patted a kitten once?) but you're not going to win any arguments on that.

So, bearing in mind the above, I'd say that overall Maggie was a pretty awful leader but she inspired a lot of good (but depressing) 80's music.

[ErrantX]

Hmm, well I think you're going a bit far. She did achieve some OK things as a leader.

Churchill was pretty sexist, homophobic, and all the rest: but he is revered as an excellent wartime leader. Everyone can have significant character flaws and still be, at their core, a good person.

Whether Thatcher was an awful leader or not is certainly a point of debate. There are good arguments either way. She supported Section 28, didn't support sanctions on South Africa, Poll Tax - all of which were bad (I don't necessarily include the miners strike because, as I mentioned in another comment, those industries were fairly doomed anyway - the clashes with the unions heightened its notability. And, anyway, as many people love her for breaking the unions as hate her for it.). But then she did some good things for the economy, and pushed Britain to the front of the financial industry (I'd argue later leaders failed to execute on this strategy, but lets not get too bogged down in arguing merits). Lots of people love her, lots hate her; what they seem to share is how strongly they feel either way!!

So, six and two threes.

[pekk]

But being female does not automatically earn her respect.

[enraged_camel]

I don't find it ironic in the slightest that you Godwin'd a discussion about Thatcher. No sir.

[run4yourlives]

She also kept the UK out of the EU for all intents and purposes... to the point that they threw her out of office doing so...

In retrospect, it seems like that did more benefit to the country than any of her policies did harm.

[salvadors]

People should have lots of good things to say about Hitler. To completely demonise him, and turn him into something completely 'other', ignoring how hugely popular and effective he was, makes it too easy to pretend that what happened was a freak aberration, rather than something we need to be actively vigilant against happening again.

[Retric]

I don't think anyone is going to call him a good person, but perhaps an effective leader. Pol Pot was easily just as evil even if he was responsible for fewer deaths, but Pol Pot left nothing so useful as the German autobahns.

On that scale Thatcher is far from evil. Her economic reforms where necessary even if they left many worse off.