Margaret Thatcher should not be granted a state funeral

To begin, my opponent examined the structure of British society, dividing it into three classes, which I broadly agree with but have made clarifications to as follows: The 'capitalists' (colloquially known by the rest of society as "toffs"). This group includes all the people who benefitted from Thatcher"s largesse when she was in power and they include: greedy, swindling investment bankers; right-wing media moguls; indolent, parasitic aristocrats and ruthless, grasping corporate fat cats. This group is, indeed, few in number, even though the vast majority of the nation"s wealth is concentrated in their hands. [1] The second group my opponent describes as 'revolutionary socialists' (colloquially known by the rest of society as "feckless underclass scum"). This group includes militant union activists, local government ethnic diversity compliance officers, ultra-orthodox feminist students, vegan social workers, some unemployed manual workers and a least one travel expert with a sense of noblesse oblige. This is also a small group, as my opponent points out, but that is largely because the right-wing media have, over the years, turned the working classes against each other. The final group, the middle class, have generally been moulded into apathetic compliance by the right-wing media and obediently accept the high taxes, profiteering privatized utilities and under-performing public services foisted upon them by successive Conservative governments, mainly because they are conditioned to be loyal to the Royal Family and to treat political leaders with the dignity and respect they don"t always deserve. Furthermore, in the same way that in the United States the American Constitution is widely regarded as sacrosanct and beyond criticism, British people have been bred to believe that British traditions, with all their associated pomp and ceremony, are a fundamental part of the national identity and so treat events such as state funerals with the utmost reverence. So, I concede that the majority of the British public who attend Thatcher's funeral will behave with decorum and respect; but this will mainly be out of deference to the soldiers and mounted guards who will perform the escort to the procession. Meanwhile, a state funeral would certainly be a call to arms for my comrades from the former industrialised heartlands of Britain where Thatcher's spiteful attacks on the unions and her subsequent decimation of heavy industries caused generations of misery and deprivation, and they may well welcome the opportunity attend the funeral to voice their objections, and some may not be unhappy if they came to blows with some irritable Thatcherite mourners (fighting in self-defence, obviously, socialists don't go out looking for trouble). Sadly, because Thatcher's Tory henchman, John Major, privatized British Rail and, as a result, Britain now has by far the highest rail fares (and one of the worst services) in Europe [2], many financially disadvantaged comrades from cities in the North may not be able to afford the cost of the train tickets, so if the funeral passes without a major protest taking place you will know this is the reason why. With regard to cost, I agree that 5 million pounds is not a lot in the greater scheme of things so why not let Thatcher's family pay for her funeral and the Government spend 1 million pounds on a huge public fireworks display and the other 4 million pounds on free beer for the crowd? That would please everybody whether they are support, oppose or are indifferent to a state funeral. Thank you. [1] . http://www.guardian.co.uk... [2} . http://www.telegraph.co.uk...