Robert Gledhill and Abbie Maguire say they called baby Thatcher Stephen Maguire because they wanted a name that stood out

This article is more than 4 years old

This article is more than 4 years old

A Conservative councillor and his Tory activist partner have named their first son Thatcher in honour of the former prime minister.

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Thatcher Stephen Maguire was born on 8 January, according to the local website Your Thurrock. His father, Robert Gledhill, leader of the Conservative group on Thurrock council, said he picked the name as a tribute to his political heroine because it “stood out”.

The boy’s mother, Abbie Maguire, stood as a Conservative candidate in council elections in 2014.

Gledhill said he was not concerned that the boy would be picked on when he reached school age. Speaking to BBC Essex, he said: “We’re happy with it and if he’s not happy with it when he’s older, I’m sure he’ll change it.”



Asked whether it was a political statement, he said: “No, not at all.” But he went on to list some of the achievements he most admired in the former prime minister. “How many children at the age of five are going to say: ‘Oh, you’re named after the first female prime minister – the one who gave everybody the ability to buy their council house or retook the Falklands’?”

The boy’s name was made public by Thurrock council’s Labour leader, John Kent, who congratulated the couple at a council meeting last week.