Status Anxiety

18 April 2009

Armando Iannucci’s satirical movie about New Labour is a tribute to the Iron Lady

Not only does In The Loop reiterate the critique of New Labour made by The Thick of It, but it underlines just how craven Tony Blair was in his obeisance to George W. Bush in the run-up to the Iraq war. Again, this only serves to remind viewers of Margaret Thatcher’s virtues in contrast to her Labour successors. In the first Gulf war, the relationship between Britain and America was more or less reversed, thanks to the Prime Minister’s force of personality. Under Thatcher, Britain punched above its weight — something that is no longer true, as In The Loop makes clear.

As I say, it cannot have been Armando Iannucci’s intention to make Baroness Thatcher look good. But of all the tributes that will be paid to her in the coming weeks, I doubt any will be as eloquent as his.

Previous page 1 | 2 | 3

More articles from: Toby Young | this section

Print this article | Email to a friend | Permalink | Comments (3)

Post this entry to: del.icio.us | Digg | Newsvine | NowPublic | Reddit

Post comment

Cementation plc

April 17th, 2009 11:31am Report this comment

Er-hem - I seem to remember a certain Prime Minister being made to stand to explain herself in the presence of a furious Queen after the Yanks invaded Grenada. Britain punching above its weight? More like a bantamweight deprived of free school milk by a certain "Snatcher".

Kenneth MacDonald

April 17th, 2009 5:05pm Report this comment

Dear All,

While I am delighted that fellow-Scot, Peter Capaldi is getting the work, I am more than depressed that Armando Iannucci panders to Simon Heffer's caricature and makes Malcolm Tucker a different nationality from the real Alastair Campbell, who, although he may be able to produce the noise of a strangled cat when he pleases, is NOT ACTUALLY A CALEDONIAN!

Do people assume that AI is a Mafioso -until he opens his mouth!