MARGARET Thatcher was one of the towering figures of the 20th century. She saved our country by liberating it from union militancy and state control. She ended the Cold War and the threat of nuclear conflict. Her impact on British politics and society has been transformational.

Becoming the first woman Prime Minister was no mean achievement at a time when women in Parliament were low in number, especially in the Conservative Party. But for me it is the values she championed which were inspirational.

I was a working class girl living on a council estate in Sheffield. My father was a labourer, my mum worked in Woolworths. Labour took for granted that people like me would support them.

But there was no question. Margaret Thatcher was on the side of those who worked hard and did the right thing. Right to buy transformed my parents’ lives.

When I look at the Conservative benches today, the legacy is there for all to see. I see many colleagues with modest backgrounds like mine. The Conservative party ceased to be the party of the toffs and Labour ceased to be the party of the workers.

Tony Blair understood this perfectly and found a way of marrying up Margaret Thatcher’s philosophy of aspiration with his brand of Socialism to great effect.

The result is that politics has moved to the right. In the 1980s there was a clear difference between the political parties and real debate. Today, everyone fights over the centre ground fearful of saying anything too provocative.

The result is that debate takes place in a space that seems remote from people’s day-to-day experience, so they don’t vote at all or turn to extremist parties.

Margaret Thatcher wouldn’t have run away from the issues raised by Mick Philpott’s ability to use his children’s meal tickets, nor would she have shied away from tackling immigration.

The lesson we should learn is to reconnect politics with conviction and belief. Politics should be about what we do more than what we say. Politicians ought to lead and inspire – just like Margaret did.