The Victoria and Albert Museum in the UK has come under criticism for describing Margaret Thatcher as a ‘contemporary villain’ alongside Adolf Hitler and Osama Bin Laden.

The former UK prime minister is mentioned as part of an exhibition called Laughing Matters: The State of the Empire, which looks at the role of humour in ‘identity, empire and power over the last two hundred years’.

Under a set of Punch and Judy puppets, a caption reads: ‘Over the years, the evil character in this seaside puppet show has shifted from the Devil to unpopular public figures including Adolf Hitler, Margaret Thatcher and Osama bin Laden to offer contemporary villains.’

Elsewhere in the display, there’s also a puppet of the late Baroness from the popular satirical TV show Spitting Image.

A number of individuals have publicly criticised the Punch and Judy caption.

 

Sir Connor Burns, a former trade minister and Conservative MP for Bournemouth, said: ‘Whoever wrote that caption should be called out publicly for being a moron, or perhaps more usefully sent to read a Ladybird book of modern world history.

‘They must live in a bubble, away from the real world, to think that it is rational to propose that a politician of the stature of Margaret Thatcher would equate to any of those mass murderers and vile human beings.’

He said: ‘This sort of idiocy begs the question of funding’.

Nile Gardiner, a former aide to Baroness Thatcher and director of The Heritage Foundation’s Margaret Thatcher Center for Freedom, meanwhile, wrote on X: ‘Disgraceful from the Victoria and Albert Museum. It should be stripped of public funding.’

According to 2022-2023 figures, the V&A received most of its funding of more than £67 million from the UK government.

 

According to Metro UK, a man known as Robert Finlay, posted on X: ‘Thatcher favoured the wealthy, weakened or destroyed industries and deepened social divides. Her policies caused instability and her neglect of communities left scars.

‘She prioritised individual success over the well-being of society, leaving a legacy of discontent and hardship.’

 

Another man Richard Maloney, wrote: ‘Maggie “Chaos Merchant” Thatcher along with Clement “Sheep in Sheep’s clothing” Atlee was the worst thing to happen to UK. She vandalised England’s great grammar schools. She destroyed communities. Stalinists loved her. She did more damage than any MI6 Soviet mole ever could.’