Reinstate Margaret Thatcher's Portrait at 10 Downing Street

The portrait of Margaret Thatcher that hung in 10 Downing Street was painted by the artist Richard Stone, and was commissioned in 2007 by the then Prime Minister, Gordon Brown. Mr Stone completed the work in 2009, and Lady Thatcher herself attended its unveiling in Downing Street on 23 November of that year. It depicts her shortly after the Falklands victory of 1982, at the height of her authority, and for fifteen years it hung in her former study, the room known to successive administrations as the Thatcher Room.

In the summer of 2024, Sir Keir Starmer removed the painting from that study, explaining that he found it “unsettling” to have portraits of people looking down at him while he worked. A portrait commissioned by one Labour Prime Minister, and unveiled in the presence of its subject, was quietly taken down by another.

Why this portrait matters

Margaret Thatcher was the first woman to hold the office of Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, and she held it longer than anyone else in the twentieth century. She led this country to victory in the South Atlantic, restored its standing among the nations of the world, and gave millions of families the dignity of owning their own homes, and gave millions more a stake in the economic future of the country through privatisation. She remains one of the towering figures of our national life.

Richard Stone is among the most distinguished portrait painters of his generation, having painted Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, and many of the senior figures of British public life. His portrait of Lady Thatcher is a work of national standing in its own right. It was made for Downing Street, it was unveiled in Downing Street, and Downing Street is where it belongs.

Number 10 is not a private residence. It is the working seat of government and a building held in trust for the nation, in which the record of those who have faithfully served is properly displayed. The portraits that hang there are not endorsements of a programme. They are an acknowledgement of office, and of history. Gordon Brown understood this when he commissioned a painting of a Prime Minister drawn from the opposing party.

To remove the likeness of the first woman ever to lead this country from the room that bears her name is to treat our history as a matter of personal comfort. It sets a precedent by which any future occupant of Number 10 may quietly edit the record of those who came before. It also denies a new generation the sight of a woman who reached the highest office in the land at a time when no woman had done so before.

A new Prime Minister, and an opportunity

On 20 July 2026, Andy Burnham accepted the King’s invitation to form a government and became Prime Minister. In his first address he spoke of restoring stability and of making our politics work better.

Here is a modest but telling opportunity to do precisely that. Returning the portrait would cost the public purse nothing. It would require no legislation and no inquiry. It would simply affirm that the office of Prime Minister stands above the party that happens to hold it, and that the achievements of Baroness Thatcher belong to the nation rather than to a storeroom.

We do not ask the Prime Minister to share her convictions. We ask him to honour the office she held with such distinction, and the history she made in holding it.

What we are asking for

• That the Richard Stone portrait of Margaret Thatcher be restored to public display within 10 Downing Street, and to the Thatcher Room in particular.
• That the Government confirm the painting’s present location and condition, and place on record that it remains part of the Downing Street collection.
• That a settled convention be affirmed, whereby portraits of former Prime Ministers held in Downing Street are displayed as a matter of historical record, rather than removed according to the preference of the incumbent.

Add your name

The Margaret Thatcher Centre is asking those who respect the achievements and legacy of the Iron Lady from across the United Kingdom to sign this petition and to call upon the new Prime Minister to restore her portrait to its rightful place. If you wish, we will also write to your Member of Parliament on your behalf and invite them to take up the cause in Parliament.

Please add your signature, and encourage others to do the same.

The portrait of Margaret Thatcher by Richard Stone is reproduced on this page with the kind permission of the artist. The Centre is grateful to Mr Stone for his generosity in allowing his work to support this campaign.