Thatcher's statue inches nearer to Commons

A marble statue of Baroness Thatcher might be installed in the Houses of Parliament within her lifetime after a ruling yesterday by the Speaker of the House of Commons.

Michael Martin altered parliamentary rules preventing statues of former prime ministers from being displayed in the building until 10 years after their death. The change means that the 1.8-ton, 8ft-tall figure could be placed in the Commons lobby within months.

The ruling followed a campaign led by the Labour left-winger Tony Banks – who once said he would happily see her "stuffed, mounted, put in a glass case and left in a museum" – for the memorial to go on a vacant plinth.

Mr Martin changed the rules so that a portrait or statue of a former prime minister can now be displayed in Westminster three Parliaments after they left office, providing this is a minimum of 12 years. In the case of Lady Thatcher, who was ousted from Downing Street in November 1990, the period would be calculated from 1987, the date of her final election victory.

Derek Conway, chairman of the Commons accommodation and works committee, said the statue would be temporarily lent to the Corporation of London for show at Guildhall. He said MPs would have to wait a little longer for Thatcher's return to the Commons. "I think we are looking at some time in the next Parliament, rather than this Parliament. The significant factor is that whether people love her or hate her, she was and will always remain the first woman prime minister."

The Corporation of London was "delighted" to be housing the statue. Lady Thatcher's home town of Grantham, Lincolnshire, and Lake Havasu in Arizona, where London Bridge was rebuilt, were mentioned as alternative sites.