Thatcher's home town split over whether it wants her 'only' statue
London, Feb. 7 : Margaret Thatcher is Britain's first and only woman Prime Minister, and the longest-serving for 150 years, but despite her unique place in British history, the only monument dedicated to her achievements is a small plaque on the wall of the property where she grew up in her home town of Grantham.
And that is the way it could stay, after disagreements over plans for a larger-than-life statue of the former premier.
More than two decades after her fall from power, the Lincolnshire market town is split over whether to accept the white marble artwork for display at Grantham Museum, the Daily Mail reports.
The museum said that any decision would be taken with the views of local residents in mind.
The 8ft 150,000 pounds artwork by sculptor Neil Simmons was commissioned by the House of Commons and was decapitated by a protester within weeks of going on display at a gallery in the City of London in 2002, the report said.
The volunteer-run museum, which already boasts a Spitting Image puppet of Thatcher and one of her blue suits, said a decision had not yet been made about the offer of the statue.
A Labour councillor in Grantham suggested that displaying a monument to Lady Thatcher could be 'asking for trouble'.
Charmaine Morgan said some of Lady Thatcher's policies remain controversial and the statue might be open to more attacks if it was erected in her home town.
Despite calls from successive mayors for a statue of Lady Thatcher, her legacy seems to be so divisive that such proposals have never got beyond the planning stage.
Grantham lies within Tory-controlled South Kesteven District Council, it added.