The egging followed warnings that such an incident may occur…
A statue of former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher has been egged mere hours after it was officially unveiled in her home town of Grantham.
Debuting earlier today (Sunday May 15), the £30o,000 bronze statue of Baroness Thatcher was met with loud booing from passing motorists and yells of “tear it down” reportedly heard, according to coverage from Sky News.
While some passers-by stopped to take selfies with the newly-placed monument, others took a more active approach of showing their thoughts surrounding the arrival of a statue celebrating one of the UK’s most controversial leaders.
As seen in the tweet below, one as-yet-unnamed individual can be seen calmly walking up to the statue before casually pelting eggs at it.
https://twitter.com/DesignsBarnes/status/1525766787656196097
The incident was quickly picked up by social media, where local outlet Grantham Journal confirmed that the Iron Lady had indeed been egged.
Margaret Thatcher statue now in place in #Grantham but it's already been egged. pic.twitter.com/HoljG5haUo
— Grantham Journal (@GranthamJournal) May 15, 2022
Such an incident doesn’t come as a massive surprise.
Unveiled without ceremony, the 20ft statue and its 10ft plinth were originally intended to find a home at Parliament Square in Westminster before it was decided that it would debut in Lincolnshire instead following fears of public activism from a “motivated far-left movement.”
For the people of Grantham, Thatcher’s legacy remains a point of contention, with some displaying pride at the local lady who went on to become the UK’s longest serving PM of the 20th century and the country’s first female leader and others highly aware of how divisive a figure she was – and remains to be.
“Margaret Thatcher will always be a significant part of Grantham’s heritage,” said Kelham Cooke, councilman and conservative leader of South Kesteven, according to the Guardian. “She and her family have close ties with Grantham. She was born, raised and went to school here.”
“It is, therefore, appropriate that she is commemorated by her home town, and that the debate that surrounds her legacy takes place here in Grantham. We must never hide from our history, and this memorial will be a talking point for generations to come.
He added: “We hope that this memorial will encourage others to visit Grantham and to see where she lived and visit the exhibition of her life in Grantham Museum.”
Created by sculptor Graham Jennings, reports of a £100,000 unveiling ceremony were met with online outrage and quickly scrapped – but not before a Facebook group was launched inviting people to take part in an “egg throwing contest.”
The event ultimately gathered around 13,000 expressions of interest.
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