Thatcher-Mania? This Conservative Party Conference Loved 'The Iron Lady'

It's two years since Margaret Thatcher died and 25 since she quit as Prime Minister but Tories still love their former leader. From the conference stage to fringe meetings and book stalls at their annual shindig in Manchester, there was evidence of "Thatcher-mania" - a low-key, quiet majority version of "Corbyn-mania". Here's a brief guide to where it was spotted.

It's two years since Margaret Thatcher died and 25 since she quit as Prime Minister but Tories still love their former leader. From the conference stage to fringe meetings and book stalls at their annual shindig in Manchester, there was evidence of "Thatcher-mania" - a low-key, quiet majority version of "Corbyn-mania". Here's a brief guide to where it was spotted.

Cabinet ministers: At the Labour party conference Tony Blair was not mentioned once on the main stage, despite being its most successful PM ever. At the Tory conference, they were falling over themselves to name-check 'The Iron Lady'.

Culture secretary Sajid Javid:

"The Conservatives are back in business. And my portrait of Mrs Thatcher is back on the wall."

Welsh secretary Stephen Crabb:

"I was drawn to a party that stood for opportunity, that didn't care what street you grew up on, what kind of family background you had or what your parents did for a living - a party led by Margaret Thatcher that understood what Labour will never understand, that it's true, you don't just have to take what you are given, but you also don't extend opportunity and social mobility by locking down the poor into worklessness, welfare dependency and indebtedness."

Communities secretary Greg Clark:

"Right to Buy is so important. Giving council tenants this right transformed the prospects of a generation of working people - including many people in this hall. It was introduced by Margaret Thatcher and implemented by this man, Michael Heseltine."

Energy secretary Amber Rudd:

"It was Margaret Thatcher who first put climate change on the international agenda."

Cultuer secretary John Whittingdale:

"In 1983, when I accompanied Margaret Thatcher on her election tour, I was put in charge of the mobile phone. There was nothing very mobile about it. It was the size of a brick with a handle."

The fringe meetings: Former Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith was speaking to an event hosted by his Centre for Social Justice when he was describing the late-1970s and the bleak prospects facing the country. "It seemed like Britain was dead on its feet," the Work and Pensions Secretary recalled. "Then along came this remarkable woman ..."

It prompted the audience's biggest cheer of the evening. Remember: Tony Blair's name is sometimes booed in the backrooms of the Labour conference.

Her biographer, Charles Moore, appeared at an event hosted by the Spectator magazine in support of his second volume about her. Reports suggest more than 200 attended and some were thrilled to be there.

Conference centre: Market stalls typically occupied by pressure groups, industry reps and charities are at the centre of conference. They also includes outlets selling goods and services. The Tories, for example, have a Harvey Nics. There is always a book store, and in Manchester it was Thatcher who was on top - the new Charles Moore book beating even the "pig-gate" tome Call Me Dave, selling more than 1,000 copies.

"It's been very strong," said Waterstone's Ian Carrington. "Call Me Dave has just stopped. There's loads of people who hate it. So the Charles Moore book will be our runaway best-seller. A lot of people buying the book are really excited about buying it - it's a badge of pride for some people."

A Conservative Party archive was also displaying letters written by the young Margaret Roberts (her maiden name) when she stood unsuccessfully to be an MP in Dartford in 1950. One noted how she was considered a "glamorous girl" by one local Tory association big-wig.

Thatcher Fans: A small group of anti-austerity protesters hurled abuse at delegates as they entered the secure zone, dubbed the "ring of steel". One young Tory, Colm Lock, appeared to relish the prospect, brandishing a picture of Margaret Thatcher on the front page of the Sunday Telegraph. He was egged for his trouble.

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