‘Gone but damage sadly lingers...’

Baroness Thatcher passed away from a stroke on Monday, aged 87 - just two days after a parade took place in Maltby to mark the closure of the area’s last deep coal mine.

Known as the Iron Lady, she had been staying at the Ritz Hotel following her release from hospital last year.

Britain’s first female prime minister, Mrs Thatcher gained notoriety in South Yorkshire during the bitter 1984-85 miners’ strike.

Her personal vendetta, as it was seen by some, against the Trade Unions led to the decimation of coal mining in the UK.

Mines were closed putting thousands of men out of work.

The National Union of Mineworkers said the legacy of her Government ‘is not one to be proud of’ and ‘good ridance’ to Lady Thatcher.

An NUM statement said: “To her family our condolences.”

“The legacy of what the Conservative Government did to British industry under Thatcher is not one to be proud of if you really did want the best for the people.”

“Of course Thatcher was the symbol of ‘free enterprise’ and set out to serve those whose interests were profit for the few.”

“The coal mining industry is not on its own in suffering the decimation of a world class industry in the name of the ‘free market’.”

“Thatcher lived long enough to see her beliefs demolished when the ‘free market’ collapsed and came running to the state for support.”

“Unlike the banks who gambled, cheated and were bailed out – coal mines were closed and communities were left to suffer.”

“Margaret Hilda Thatcher is gone but the damage caused by her fatally flawed politics sadly lingers on. Good Riddance.”

Her funeral will take place on Wednesday, with the ceremony in London’s St Paul’s Cathedral following a procession from Westminster.

She will not have a state funeral but will be accorded the same status as Princess Diana and the Queen Mother.

No official figure has been given for the estimated overall costs, although reports suggest it could be up to £10 million.