'A love of champagne and canvassing in heels'

Former Bermuda Premier Dame Jennifer Smith today paid tribute to the late Baroness Thatcher.

Dame Jennifer – like Mrs Thatcher, a ground-breaking woman Premier – said she met the former Tory Prime Minister when she visited Bermuda in 2001.

And Dame Jennifer said – despite Mrs Thatcher being on the right wing of politics and the PLP being left of centre – the two hit it off.

Dame Jennifer added: “It was with great sadness that I learned of the passing of Baroness Margaret Thatcher today who was the first and only woman Prime Minster of the UK from 1979 to 1990.

“It never occurred to me that I would one day meet this great lady, and then, when it happened, I was unprepared for my reaction. I liked her. We hit it off like girlfriends.”

Dame Jennifer said: “I was amazed. She was a woman of great intellect and great accomplishments.

“Although I admired her achievements, particularly her success in revamping the British Civil Service, we were on opposite ends of the political spectrum - she, a Conservative and me, a Labourite.

“You can imagine how I wondered what we could talk about when it transpired that she would be visiting Bermuda.” Dame Jennifer said she sat next to the former PM at a lunch at the Bermuda Maritime Museum when she visited the island more than a decade after she was axed from the leadership after a Tory rebellion.

Dame Jennifer said: “Prepared to be totally overwhelmed, I was unprepared for the warmth of her greeting and her careful attempts to put me at ease.

“I learned that we shared a love for hard work, service, and commitment to making a difference - not to mention that we also shared the practice of canvassing in heels and a love of champagne.

“That afternoon at Commissioner's House ensured that I never again judged people I did not know on face value.

“Baroness Thatcher was so much more than her "Iron Lady" image - she was a woman, a caring mother, a loving wife, a concerned and involved citizen who changed her country.

“She will be mourned and missed by all who knew her and all who benefited from her life.”