Baroness Thatcher to receive State Funeral

[Banquo's Ghost]

Maybe Blair thinks that if he sets a precedent, they'll do it for him. Perhaps they could be buried together.

On reading the article, it seems as if Britain reserves state funerals for royalty and truly great, unifying leaders like Churchill. Canonised though she is by the unreformed right, most people of my acquaintance acknowledge her influence on the UK, but few think she was unusual. Knowing what I do about my British friends' views about Thatcher, any state funeral is likely to provoke an utterly awful display of partisanship.

The prospect of hard left groups (perhaps even moderates) staging some sort of massive protest during the funeral should make Mr Blair think again.