http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-04-09/n ... th/4617348
Hundreds of people have held parties in areas of England and Scotland to celebrate the death of former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher.
Baroness Thatcher, the controversial "Iron Lady" who dominated a generation of British politics and won international acclaim for helping to end the Cold War, died after a stroke yesterday aged 87.
About 200 people gathered in Brixton, south London, the scene of serious rioting in 1981, two years after the 'Iron Lady' became prime minister.
Brixton residents celebrated the news of her death by drinking and dancing to hip-hop and reggae songs blaring from sound systems.
People held up notices saying "Rejoice - Thatcher is dead", while others scrawled "Good Riddance" on the pavement.
"I'm very, very pleased. She did so much damage to this country," said one man brandishing an original newspaper billboard from 1990 announcing Thatcher's resignation.
Clare Truscott, a woman in her 50s wearing a sparkly beret, held a homemade sign reading "Ding dong, the witch is dead".
"We've got the bunting out at home," she said.
"I'm from the north, where there were no jobs, where the industry was rapidly disappearing, and her policies ensured it went more quickly."
Carole Roper, a full-time carer in her 50s from north London, said: "We're here to celebrate her death."
Sipping from a can of beer, she insisted: "I don't think it's vindictive - it's not so much about the death of Thatcher but what she has done, the policies she introduced to this country.
"Compare the coverage to that when Chavez died - she's being eulogised.
"It's been wall-to-wall coverage on the BBC but she did nothing to help the poor people of this country."
In Scotland's biggest city Glasgow, more than 300 people gathered to hold their own impromptu "party".
Anti-capitalist campaigners shouted, "Maggie, Maggie, Maggie" while the crowd replied "dead, dead, dead".
The crowd also broke into a chorus of "Ding dong, the witch is dead" while drinking champagne.