Scottish Christian.com

Home > News > Scottish Christian News Monitor

Brown to deliver his own 'Sermon on the Mound'

Gordon Brown will today visit his spiritual home when he addresses the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland in Edinburgh which was the scene of one of the most controversial political speeches delivered in Scotland by a prime minister, writes Lorraine Davidson.

It was 20 years ago that the then Conservative Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher spoke at the same religious gathering in her now famous, or infamous, speech dubbed “The Sermon on The Mound”.

Re-reading the text which sparked anger among the nation's church leaders and opposition politicians at the time, supporters of Baroness Thatcher claim it is difficult to see what all the fuss was about.

Her speech to the General Assembly in May 1988 is regarded as symbolising the beginning of the end of Tory rule in Scotland and fuelling the momentum of the home rule debate.

One myth surrounding Lady Thatcher is that in her speech she declared “there is no such thing as society”. She did not utter those exact words, yet the sentiment was used mercilessly against her in portrayals of an uncaring politcian spearheading the interests of the rich.

Full story at The Times.

Lady Thatcher's speech at the Margaret Thatcher Foundation.