Conservative MPs have showered praise on the bishop of London, Richard Chartres,
for "a terrific address" that humanised Lady Thatcher and challenged
the perennial claim that she believed there was no such thing as
society.Some Conservatives said his address, focusing on her faith and personal kindness, would do more to strengthen her political legacy than many of the more divisive, political eulogies delivered in the past week by her former colleagues.
The Tory delight at the politics underlining his address will also do something to heal the ever-present tensions between the party and the Church of England.
The bishop, a close friend of Prince Charles, highlighted Thatcher's Methodism, her belief in interdependence and her view of the family as "the very nursery of civic virtue".
He said: "Her later remark about there being no such thing as 'society' has been misunderstood, and refers to some impersonal entity to which we are tempted to surrender our independence."
He also pointed out that she herself said that from Christianity "we learn our interdependence, and the great truth that we do not achieve happiness or salvation in isolation from each other but as members of society".
On a day of Labour unease about the scale, cost and grandeur of her funeral, as well as fears it was being exploited for contemporary Tory political gain, Chartres's subtle defence of her ideology, as well as its focus on her as an individual, drew wide-ranging praise from Tory MPs. "He took apart one of the dominant and most damaging myths about her beliefs," said one cabinet member.
Boris Johnson, the mayor of London, praised a "particularly moving, touching and well-judged address".
The rightwing MP David Davis said: "Chartres got it just right." And another rightwinger, Stewart Jackson, praised "the gracious, well-judged address by the bishop of London".
John Whittingdale, the Conservative chair of the culture select committee, and a former aide, said: "It was a very good address. He was someone who did know her, and spoke from personal knowledge. It was a terrific address: entirely right. She was demanding but showed enormous kindness and compassion."
Her claim that there was no such thing as society – relevant to current debates about welfare – came in an interview with Women's Own magazine in September 1987 in which she attacked welfare dependency and lack of responsibility.
In the interview, she said: "It went too far. If children have a problem, it is society that is at fault. There is no such thing as society. There is a living tapestry of men and women and people and the beauty of that tapestry and the quality of our lives will depend upon how much each of us is prepared to take responsibility for ourselves and each of us prepared to turn round and help by our own efforts those who are unfortunate."
Earlier in the day, Cameron tried to distance himself from some of this perceived harshness of Thatcherism by saying she would be remembered for Britain's economic renewal, but he said he had been trying over the past seven years, through his leadership, to add social renewal.
On a day on which he promised there would be no triumphalism, he also struck a jarring note by saying: "We are all Thatcherites now." He said everyone now "accepts many of her big arguments", as well as her resolutions.
"No one wants to go back to trade unions that are undemocratic, or one-sided nuclear disarmament, or having great private-sector businesses in the public sector."
But he argued Thatcherism was no longer enough, saying: "It's important that you learn from all of political history, and I think what we've needed to do is take that great inheritance and then add to it. As well as an economic renewal, there is a need for a great social renewal, and I think that side of Conservatism needs a boost. And that's what I've tried to do over the last seven years."
Cameron has also been insisting Thatcher will be remembered for "saving the nation" from decline in the 1980s, leaving unsaid an implicit parallel with his own effort to clear up the fiscal deficit.
He said on Wednesday: "I think she would recognise the scale of the deficit that we're struggling with and the need for a more competitive economy. But there are also great social challenges, great educational challenges, and we need to apply that sort of resolution to those."
Labour was largely quiet, focusing on the unemployment figures and the criticisms of the chancellor's austerity polices by the IMF.
The former Labour deputy leader Margaret Beckett criticised the funeral as a parade, saying she would have preferred a proper, dignified family funeral, adding: "Lady Thatcher was not a uniter."
Backbenchers continued to criticise the cost of the funeral, and No 10 continued to parry questions about it, saying figures would be published in due course.
Labour concern that it may be damaged by the nine-day Thatcher retrospective have been confirmed in some polls, but others, including one by Ipsos Mori, show Thatcher remains a politican who divides opinion.
In that poll, issued on Wednesday, half the public (47%) believe the 11 years of her government were good for the country while 42% say they were bad.
Views on Tony Blair's time in office are even more split, with equal numbers believing his government was good and bad for the country (45%).
Although not yet over, Cameron's government is judged as being bad for the country by more people than is Blair's or Thatcher's. David Cameron's three years in government have been bad for the country, according to 52%, while 37% say his time in office has been good.