Nostalgia for the Vestry 
James Buchan
Of the monuments of the Thatcher era, one of the most intriguing is a small file card, on which are written four pairs of words: Discord-Harmony, Error-Truth, Doubt-Faith, Dispair [sic]-Hope. These are the bones of the prayer attributed (not very plausibly) to St Francis of Assisi that Margaret Thatcher quoted on the steps of 10 Downing Street on her first day as prime minister, 4 May 1979: ‘Where there is discord, may we bring harmony.’ Thatcher had just called on the queen and no doubt wrote the words as an aide-memoire on the short drive back through St James Park from Buckingham Palace. It is as if on 18 June 1940 Churchill had had before him in the House of Commons a note saying Battle – France – Over – Battle – Britain – Begin.
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James Buchan’s books include Frozen Desire: The Meaning of Money, Crowded with Genius and, most recently, Adam Smith and the Pursuit of Perfect Liberty.
Other articles by this contributor:
My Hogs · James Buchan and his Gloucester Old Spots
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