Should the Iron Lady be immortalised in bronze?
Provisional designs for a statue of Margaret Thatcher in her hometown of Grantham in Lincolnshire have been revealed to the public.
With the help of a local artist, images of the late prime minister will be displayed in the museum. The designs are currently on the websitemargaretthatcherstatue.org, where people can comment on their favourite designs. So far, there are three poses to chose from, one of which features Lady Thatcher upright and clutching her handbag, while in another the Grantham native is in a more relaxed pose, sitting in a chair. The statue would reportedly also include a selection of discs around the base of the monument, engraved with some of her most famous quotes. While it is not yet confirmed where the statue will be erected, the artistic impressions of the monument appear to be outsideGrantham Museum, near a sculpture of Sir Isaac Newton.
Grantham Community Heritage Association, a charity that funds Grantham Museum, revealed plans to raise £200,000 for the town's tribute. At least half of the funds would go toward museum renovations and exhibitions commemorating Mrs Thatcher's achievements.
Helen Goral, Grantham Museum's chairman, said news of the statue was "divisive". Goral told Politics.co.uk that members of the local Labour party expressed disapproval of Thatcher's tribute, despite the fact that most of its financing would come from private sources. "[Thatcher] is always going to be divisive, but she wasn't the longest-serving prime minister [of the 20th century] for no reason," she said. "We are an educational charity, and what we are trying to do is recognise the heritage and history of the town."
Goral added: "We are releasing three designs just to give people an opportunity to discuss them really. It's always going to be a controversial subject – people will have something to say."
With such controversy surrounding the late Conservative leader, many people suggest there is a need for a plinth to protect a new statue from vandals, recalling the decapitation of a £150,000 Guildhall Art Gallery statue of Thatcher which was displayed in 2002. Outside Grantham, a similar debate ignited following her death in April, when rows surrounding calls for a statue of Lady Thatcher to be erected in Trafalgar Square began, with one Labour politician describing the concept as "crass triumphalism".
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