The £300,000 tribute to Baroness Margaret Thatcher, which was constructed in her hometown of Grantham, was received by hurled eggs and loud boos. Others posed in front of it for selfies.
After a monument of former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher was put into position in her hometown of Grantham, eggs were hurled.
Some cars booed as they drove past the memorial shortly after it was constructed on Sunday, with one guy yelling, “Tear it down!”
Others, who were less loud, were spotted snapping photographs with the monument.
The £300,000 monument was meant for Westminster’s Parliament Square, but it was chosen to be placed in Lincolnshire instead owing to worries of a “motivated far-left movement… who may be devoted to public activity.”
The 20-foot statue, which was authorised in 2019 but delayed owing to COVID, was ultimately installed on its 10-foot-high granite base in the town’s Civic Quarter, between sculptures of Sir Isaac Newton and Frederick Tollemache.
Following the approval of a £100,000 unveiling ceremony in 2020 by South Kesteven District Council, a Facebook page suggesting a “egg-throwing contest” for the occasion drew over 13,000 members.
Around 2,400 people expressed interest in attending the event, which included “egg tossing… and perhaps graffiti painting.”
The municipality has responded by installing a CCTV camera just opposite the monument.
The Public Memorials Appeal, which is sponsored by contributions, paid for the statue.
According to a council official, the memorial will be revealed “at a later period.”
Kelham Cooke, the head of South Kesteven District Council, stated, “We must never hide from our history,” and that it is “fitting” that the debate about her legacy takes place in Grantham.
He called Baroness Thatcher “a vital part of Grantham’s past” and said the monument would be a “fitting homage to a genuinely remarkable political personality.”
Baroness Thatcher, the daughter of a grocer, was born, reared, and educated in the market town.
“We must never hide from our history,” Mr Cooke continued, “and this memorial will be a conversation topic for centuries to come.”
He expressed his hope that it will entice others to come to Grantham to learn more.
Grantham Community Heritage Association (GCHA), an educational nonprofit that runs Grantham Museum, spent years fundraising for a permanent tribute to Baroness Thatcher.
“There has long been a discussion in Grantham about a more permanent memorial to the country’s first female prime minister, who was a significant political figure, both nationally and internationally,” said Graham Jeal of the GCHA.
“The delivery of the monument has enabled the museum’s finances survive the Covid epidemic and has safeguarded the museum for the next few years.”
“It is acknowledged that the complete range of views on Margaret Thatcher’s impact exists in Grantham, as evidenced by an exhibition inside the museum.”
On the crossroads of North Parade and Broad Street in Grantham, there is also a plaque commemorating Baroness Thatcher’s birthplace.
