A sharply divisive figure in life, news of Margaret Thatcher's death has brought similar displays of love and loathing across the United Kingdom.
At the National Union of Miners in South Yorkshire, many were expected to celebrate the passing of a figure often blamed for the downfall of Britain's mining communities.
(SOUNDBITE) (English) CHAIRMAN OF THE YORKSHIRE AREA OF THE NATIONAL UNION OF MINERS, CHRIS SKIDMORE, SAYING:
"You are not supposed to speak ill of the dead, but from the phone calls I have had this morning, I would imagine there will be quite a lot of people in the mining communities that will not be shedding a tear today, but they will be raising their drink and toasting her passing and saying good riddance."
As Britain's only female prime minister, Thatcher is attributed with crushing trade unions, privatising vast swathes of British industry, clashing with allies in the European economic bloc and fighting a distant war for the Falkland Islands.
