Fraser Nelson Fraser Nelson

30 years on

“Where there is discord, may we bring harmony.

Where there is error, may we bring truth.


Where there is doubt, may we bring faith.

And where there is despair, may we bring hope.”

It was 30 years ago today that The Lady said these words at 10 Downing St. It’s not quite the Prayer of St Francis of Assisi – the first line appears to have been a little improvisation. And it is the one most often quoted because it strikes such a contrast with what was to come. They are often quoted because they strike such a contrast with what was to come. She had, in fact, come to turn Britain upside down, and to do so at a frenetic pace. When speaking to the Church of Scotland nine years later, she gave a version a little closer to her gospel.

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