On Monday 13th October 2025, one hundred years on from Margaret Thatcher’s birth, the Margaret Thatcher Centre hosted a star-studded gala dinner at the Guildhall in the City of London.
The event was a fitting tribute to the life and works of Lady Thatcher. Attended by a range of people – some of whom knew her exceptionally well – over 500 Thatcherites listened to inspirational speeches whilst sharing their own anecdotes with fondness.
It was a privilege to hear from her son, Sir Mark Thatcher, who spoke for the first time in a public setting about his beloved mother’s life and legacy. In his remarks, Sir Mark paid tribute to her principles, policies and leadership – especially when it came to future generations – in that she rightly felt that her policies should both empower and provide them with the freedom to express their own individual talents.
This was echoed by one of the Centre’s founders, Sir Conor Burns, who described how we should use the evening to rededicate ourselves to seeing her values applied to both shaping our response to the challenges of today and to inspiring future generations. Sir Conor went further in his speech, describing how in his conversations with Lady Thatcher prior to setting up the Centre her desire was to see it focus on an educational mission to inspire future leadership.
The evening at the Guildhall served up not just exceptional food in a historic location but also some showbiz style with Dame Joan Collins accepting the Margaret Thatcher’s Centre ‘Best of British’ award for her achievements and patriotism. In her acceptance speech, Dame Joan said how much she admired Mrs Thatcher, and how the former Prime Minister ‘stood up to all men, who I think a lot of them had a crush on her – maybe some of them are still here’.
Another award on the night went to another former Prime Minister, the Rt Hon. Boris Johnson, who was presented with ‘The Global Leadership Award’, marking his efforts with regards to Ukraine. Of course, Boris gave a typically tub-thumbing speech where he praised Lady Thatcher’s vision, her strength and enduring belief in freedom, noting that through her and President Ronald Reagan’s leadership and success in defeating the former USSR, many new independent nations were created and people freed.
Thoughts on the night wouldn’t be complete, however, without mentioning the vast knowledge and generosity of those that attended and other supporters. Knowledge as, in a ‘heads or tails’ game that revolved around questions concerning Mrs Thatcher’s life, legacy and achievements, so many people were getting the questions right that Thatcher Centre Founder, Donal Blaney, nearly ran out of questions to ask. Generosity as, inspired by the auctioneering skills and style of Lord Jeffrey Archer, and a silent auction that was running in the background, around £100,000 was raised for the Centre – to be put to good use in its future activities.
This generosity, of course, was also seen through sponsors such as the Amersi Foundation and Regent Global. Mohamed Amersi and Selva Pankaj, from the respective companies, gave speeches that inspired – reminding the audience of the vision and strength of Lady Thatcher, as well as what can be achieved if we embraced her example today.
Along with our item sponsors, Barbara and Tony Yerolemou, Hillsdale College, The Cherish Freedom Foundation, Griffin Law, and King & Spalding everything came together to create a fitting way to remember, celebrate and be inspired by the Great Lady Thatcher on what would have been her 100th birthday.
And the press loved it, too!
Joan Collins hailed at conservative shindig The Spectator
A Dynasty star and the Thatcher dynasty Sky News
We need the Iron Lady’s mettle now more than ever CapEx
and Harry Cole Saves The West
