Grantham: Thatcher's home town to pair with Reagan birthplace

The home towns of Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan are to formally recognise the leaders' close relationship.

The former prime minister and US president enjoyed one of the most enduring political relationships of the 20th century.

Now, Grantham in Lincolnshire and Tampico, in Illinois, are to be "paired", celebrating the transatlantic "special relationship".

Grantham's mayor said he hoped it would attract US visitors to the market town.

Councillor Graham Jeal said the region already "gets a lot of American tourists" who could be steered towards the town.

Malcolm Robbins, from Grantham Museum, noted the two leaders' near-identical beginnings, with Mrs Thatcher born above her father's grocers, while Mr Reagan entered the world in an apartment above a bakery.

"They both came from very similar backgrounds and their careers intertwined," he said.

"They spent a lot of time together as politicians and there was obviously a very close relationship between the two of them that we want to reflect in the museum."

Sean Sandrock, of the Reagan Birthplace and Museum, in Tampico, said he hoped to work closely with his British counterparts 4,000 miles away at the Grantham Museum.

He said: "If there was a possibility for us to trade exhibits, I think that would be wonderful."

Mr Reagan's chief of staff, Ken Duberstein, previously told the BBC how the president and prime minister "painted in primary colours" because "they didn't do pastels", adding they "had each other's back".

Born on 13 October 1925 above her father's shop, Mrs Thatcher attended Kesteven and Grantham Girls' School, before gaining a scholarship to study at Oxford University. She was prime minister from 1979 to 1990.

Mr Reagan was born in an apartment above a bakery on 6 February 1911. He graduated from Eureka College, in his home state. After a successful career in Hollywood, he served as the governor of California from 1967 to 1975, before becoming the 40th US president, from 1981 to 1989.

He died on 5 June 2004, at the age of 93.

In her eulogy to him, Mrs Thatcher said Mr Reagan's politics "had a freshness and optimism that won converts from every class and every nation".

Mrs Thatcher died on 8 April 2013, aged 87.

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