South Kesteven District Council leader Ashley Baxter writes on ThatcherFest and the importance of celebrating centenary of Margaret Thatcher’s birth

Last week marked the 100th anniversary of the birth of Britain’s first female Prime Minister, writes South Kesteven District Council leader Ashley Baxter (Ind).

The world and its media descended on Grantham, and I am pleased to report that the town was ready.

The centenary was literally a once in a generation opportunity to promote Grantham and we nailed it!

The week-long ThatcherFest was arguably the biggest and most genuinely community-run festival in South Kesteven in living memory.

Several events took place at the council’s Guildhall Arts Centre including the eye-catching Queen of Soho production and an evening with Gyles Brandreth, which both sold out.

However, most of the festival activities were organised by community organisations including the Grantham’s Dramatic Society, its museum, library and the local Labour Party. The Kesteven Girls’ Grammar School hosted an exhibition in honour of its former head girl who went on to become the first female leader of the Conservative Party as well as two cinematic screenings of the Iron Lady.

Town walks were popular, as was the exhibition of postcards, punk posters and political propaganda at the Union Street gallery which continues until the end of the month.

There were two main reasons for organising ThatcherFest.

The first was to promote Grantham and we did it. We had acres of press coverage from local and national media including features in the Telegraph, the Guardian and the Big Issue. Meanwhile the week of events attracted visitors from far and wide including the fourth and current female leader of the Conservatives.

I believe we were also successful in achieving the second goal of the festival which was to ignite political debate. Apart from the predictable arguments about whether to mark the centenary at all, I heard many discussions about the lasting impacts of Thatcher’s policies. Some of them have had lasting effects such as the sale of council houses which, for decades, has stifled our ability to meet the housing needs of vulnerable families.

Other legislation, including the Poll Tax and the Section 28 ban on promoting LGBT in schools, has been consigned to the dustbin of history. Some of the specific events of the 1980s echo with the news of today including: employment rates and the cost of living; the constant threat of domestic terrorism; and tensions between the superpowers of Russia and America.

My own experiences during the week were surreal and included laughing at the poetry of Atilla the Stockbroker, spending an evening with political celebrity Edwina Currie and enjoying a pint with the impressive tribute act Billy Blagg.

The success of the festival illustrates why it is so much better for any council to work in genuine partnership with residents and community groups rather than to ignore or compete with them.