Statue of Margaret Thatcher (London Guildhall)
{{Short description|1998 marble sculpture}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2014}}
{{Infobox artwork
| title = Statue of Margaret Thatcher |italic title=no
| image = Statue of Margaret Thatcher, Guildhall, London.jpg
| image_upright = 1.1
| wikidata =
| caption = The repaired statue in September 2015
| artist = Neil Simmons
| year = {{start date and age|1998|5}}
| medium = Marble
| subject = Margaret Thatcher
| dimensions = {{convert|8|ft|m|adj=on}}
| weight = {{convert|1.8|t|ST|adj=on}}
| condition = rebuilt
| museum = London, {{postcode|EC|2}}
United Kingdom
| city =
| coordinates = {{coord|51.5155664|-0.0912595|display=inline,title}}
}}
The statue of Margaret Thatcher in the Guildhall, London, is a marble sculpture of the former British Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher. It was commissioned in 1998 by the sculptor Neil Simmons by the Speaker's Advisory Committee on Works of Art;{{cite web |url=http://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/other-committees/works-of-art |title=Speaker's Advisory Committee on Works of Art |publisher=Parliament of the United Kingdom |accessdate=9 June 2011}} paid for by an anonymous donor, it was intended for a plinth among statues of former Prime Ministers of the United Kingdom in the Members' Lobby of the House of Commons. However, as the House did not permit a statue to be erected there during its subject's lifetime, the work had been temporarily housed in Guildhall.{{Cite news|last=Murphy|first=Joe|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1366132/At-eight-feet-and-two-tons-the-ladys-not-for-showing.html|title=At eight feet and two tons, the lady's not for showing|date=23 December 2001|newspaper=The Daily Telegraph|accessdate=9 June 2011}} It was unveiled there by Lady Thatcher in February 2002.{{Cite news|title=Thatcher statue unveiled|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/1795523.stm|date=1 February 2002|accessdate=18 September 2010|publisher=BBC News}}
Decapitation
On 3 July 2002, theatre producer Paul Kelleher decapitated the statue while it was on display at Guildhall Art Gallery.{{Cite news|last=White|first=Michael|authorlink=Michael White (journalist)|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2002/jul/04/artsnews.redbox|title=Thatcher statue decapitated|date=4 July 2002|newspaper=The Guardian|accessdate=18 September 2010}}{{Cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/2091660.stm|title=Man denies Thatcher statue charge|date=4 July 2002|publisher=BBC News|accessdate=18 September 2010}}{{Cite news|last=Kevan|first=Paul|url=http://www.metro.co.uk/weird/2967-decapitation-of-thatcher-leads-to-retrial|title=Decapitation of Thatcher leads to retrial|newspaper=Metro|accessdate=18 September 2010}} Having unsuccessfully taken a swing at the statue with a cricket bat concealed in his trousers, Kelleher picked up a metal pole from a nearby rope cordon and used it to decapitate the £150,000 statue.{{Cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/2779597.stm|title=Thatcher statue attacker jailed|date=20 February 2003|publisher=BBC News|accessdate=18 September 2010}} After the vandalism he waited to be arrested by the police who arrived minutes later. He joked on capture: "I think it looks better like that."
Following the loss of its head, the statue was removed from display. Although it was estimated that the work could be repaired for about £10,000, statue experts expressed concern that it could never be fully restored.
At his first trial, Kelleher said in his defense that the attack involved his "artistic expression and my right to interact with this broken world". The jury, despite nearly four hours of deliberation and a direction from the judge that it could decide by the majority, failed to agree on whether or not he had "lawful excuse". He was retried in January 2003, found guilty of criminal damage and sentenced to three months in jail.
On 21 February 2007, a new statue of Thatcher was commissioned in 2003 from sculptor Antony Dufort and this time in tougher silicon bronze. It was erected on the reserved plinth in the Members' Lobby.{{cite web |editor-last=Hay |editor-first=Malcolm |url=http://www.parliament.uk/documents/upload/baroness-thatcher-booklet.pdf |title=Baroness Thatcher booklet |publisher=Parliament of the United Kingdom |date=21 February 2007 |accessdate=25 December 2014}} The rule against living subjects had been relaxed by this stage and Thatcher unveiled the statue.{{Cite news |date=21 February 2007 |title="Iron Lady" unveils her bronze statue |url=http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-thatcher-idUKL2129484920070221 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170820120010/http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-thatcher-idUKL2129484920070221 |archive-date=2017-08-20 |accessdate=25 December 2014 |work=Reuters}} By then, the marble statue had been repaired, but it remains in Guildhall. After several years in the Guildhall Art Gallery, the statue was moved to a corridor location elsewhere in the Guildhall building.{{cite web |last=Furness |first=Hannah |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/11372871/Gallery-denies-banishing-decapitated-Baroness-Thatcher-statue.html |title=Gallery denies 'banishing' decapitated Baroness Thatcher statue |date=27 January 2015 |newspaper=The Daily Telegraph |accessdate=18 September 2017}}
In popular culture
- "I Did It for Alfie", a song on the 2004 album Un by Chumbawamba that was directly inspired by the incident{{citation needed|date=July 2019}}