Council won't use taxpayers' money to unveil Margaret Thatcher statue after backlash leads to U-turn

Margaret Thatcher statue unveiling ceremony won’t use £100,000 of taxpayers' money after backlash prompts the council to U-turn.

Councillors in Grantham, Lincolnshire voted in December to set aside £100,000 to cover the costs of an event to reveal the statue, hoping donations would recoup the money.

But the plans to use taxpayers' money to underwrite the ceremony have been scrapped after the decision reignited divisions in the town over Thatcher’s legacy.

The matter was put before a scrutiny committee on Monday where it was decided that delays due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic would provide enough time to raise the money through private donations.

The chair of Grantham Labour, Councillor Lee Steptoe, called the council’s reversal a "victory for common sense".

After the December vote he described the council’s move to have made the decision in the middle of a pandemic when funds were scarce as "absolutely perverse".

The bronze 10ft (3m) statue of Thatcher, created by sculptor Douglas Jennings, was originally proposed to be placed in Parliament Square but this was rejected over fears that the statue would attract protests.

Controversy and rows over the sculpture have raged for years, and Grantham will place it on a 10ft plinth when it is unveiled in May to prevent vandalism.

The Conservative-led South Kesteven district council confirmed the decision to remove the £100,000 underwriting from budget plans at a cabinet meeting on Tuesday.

Kelham Cooke, leader of the council, said the unveiling ceremony would now be "privately funded through donations without the need for any underwriting or forward funding for this event, and the funding for this will be removed from the council’s budget".