Former MP for Finchley Baroness Margaret Thatcher dies following a stroke

Former Prime Minister and MP for Finchley Baroness Margaret Thatcher has died following a stroke this morning.

Her spokesman Lord Bell said: “It is with great sadness that Mark and Carol Thatcher announced that their mother Baroness Thatcher died peacefully following a stroke this morning.

“A further statement will be made later.”

Baroness Thatcher was first elected as a Conservative MP for Finchley in October 1959.

The Ham&High reported at the time that she had achieved a “thumping majority” in the constituency which included parts of Hampstead Garden Suburb.

Elected to a Parliament with a record number of women members, Mrs Thatcher told the Ham&High at the time: “It’s not a case of having particular interests because I’m a woman MP.

“I take the broad view, which is that I represent the whole constituency, both men and women.”