Do you know what I most enjoyed about the recent anti-Trump demonstrations? The fact that no one took any notice! Theresa May is continuing with her plans for close ties between Britain and America as if no one had spoken out. Which is exactly how world leaders should behave. For years, I've had little interest in politics because our politicians have been so ineffectual. The usual drill is that the Prime Minister puts forward an idea, like "Let's cut benefits," or "Let's curb immigration," or even, "Let's deport this convicted terrorist." The next day, people take to the street waving banners in objection.
A few lawyers, judges or the Court of Human Rights joins the naysayers and... hey ho... the proposed idea is axed and no action is taken. So how refreshing it is to see Donald trump make an an executive order... and actually carry it out! Immediately, with no debate and no nonsense. And when his State Attorney objected... he fired her! I almost punched the air when I read that. Because that, folks is how you run a country: by being the boss.
A leader who leads
For Trump's opponents to say he's acting undemocratically is ridiculous. Trump was elected by the democratic process during a year-long campaign in which he made all his policies clear. Having been elected, it is now his duty to carry out those policies without having to put every decision to a committee.
Democracy has given him a mandate to lead, and that is what he's doing. Not since Margaret Thatcher was Prime Minster of Britain have we had a world leader who has both a clear cut set of policies and the determination to implement them, and Trump's decisiveness fills me with hope that he will not only make America great again, as he promises, but through influencing our government to be similarly strong he will have the same effect on Britain.
Margaret Thatcher's legacy
Margaret Thatcher's legacy continues to divide opinion because she made radical changes to a left-wing system that started with good intentions but ultimately gave too much power to the unions and crippled the country as a result. The parallel to our current point in history when a decade of well-meaning liberalism and political correctness has been taken to extremes is clear.
As a child in the 1970s, I grew up in a Britain blighted by industrial action, power cuts, racism, class consciousness and "them and us" attitudes. The mood of the nation was pessimistic. As we moved into the 1980s, Thatcher's leadership ushered in a new era of optimism. It was the age of the Yuppie, free enterprise and self-reliance rather than state-reliance. It was an aspirational time with a real sense that anyone, from any background could make something of themselves - and people did. Comedian Harry Enfield satirised the "Loadsamoney" attitude of the new working class entrepreneurs, but when was it ever wrong for people from humble backgrounds to make loads of money?
The Iron Lady
A key part of Thatcher's effectiveness was her "Iron Lady" persona.
In her own words, "The lady was not for turning." She had no time for the "wets" or "moaning minnies." Her decisiveness was evidenced by the swiftly won Falklands War, in which a clear objective was determined and achieved. Compare that with today's wars which have seemingly no objective and no result. At the end of her reign, Thatcher was a major influencer on the equally decisive liberation of Kuwait in the first Gulf War. Famously, she prompted US President George Bush into action with the words "This is no time to go wobbly."
Trump, a Thatcher admirer, does not look like he is going to go wobbly, and if recent events are anything to go by, his resolve will hopefully rub off on Theresa May and turn her government into the sort of get-it-done Conservative administration that Margaret Thatcher would be proud of.
