Lady Thatcher lives to see the Brexit referendum

[Deleted]

Let’s assume the former PM had lived long enough to see the Brexit referendum take place. Assuming she was still of sound mind and in reasonably health for a 90 year old, would she have associated herself with the leave campaign? I don’t mean playing a leading role, but maybe giving a couple of interviews or speeches. Would she have regarded Brexit as a big enough issue for her to temporarily come out of retirement and speak her mind?

What impact might this have had on the campaign and the final result?

[jamie]

I suspect Thatcher explicitly supporting Leave would have lost them votes. A big part of the success of Leave was winning big majorities in a lot of post-industrial, northern, working class communities. The EU being the establishment and a weak Labour remain campaign meant that many of these places went heavily for Leave without the residents necessarily having the most ingrained euroscepticism. Had someone like Thatcher publicly campaigned for Leave then quite a few of these types of voters would have stayed home/votes remain.

[BossMan]

I think Lady Thatcher went the same way as most of the rest of the country. Initially enthusiastic about the Common Market, when it was, it seemed, just that: a common market with mutually beneficial trade agreements. The more political, centralised and federalist it became, the more people turned against it (plus the difficulty in leaving, as the UK became increasingly intertwined with its rules). This explains the difference between the 1975 and 2016 referenda.
We can't say for certain that she would have gone so far as to actively support Leave, though it seems highly likely. She would have certainly respected the outcome.

Having said that, holding referenda was not in the style of Thatcher, or indeed, Major. They would have preferred to legislate in their day. That was of course easier in the days the main two parties were able to win landslides.