Thatcher: Regionals capture the mood

Today's front pages illustrate perfectly what Britain really thought of Margaret Thatcher. There was no middle ground. It was either love or hate. I spent all of her Downing Street tenure working as a journalist in the North-East. I reported on what happened to the mining communities in the 80s, watched the way the working class values I had been brought up with were brushed aside and saw the region largely ignored by government. It is fair to say in that corner of England she was more loathed than loved. The Northern Echo that I worked on, certainly took a position against many of her policies but it would never have rejoiced in the death of an old lady. 

So well done to Peter Barron and his team for a first-rate and balanced front page. Like many papers, the Echo has gone for a stark black and white image. The three-deck quotes across the bottom show just how Thatcher polarised opinion. David Cameron's 'a great leader, a great Prime Minister, a great Briton' is countered brilliantly by the words of Durham miners' leader Dave Hopper: 'She did more damage to us than Hitler.' Sums it up really. 

The Journal in Newcastle also goes for a black and white image - although a more sympathetic choice - and takes the 'loved and loathed in equal measure' angle. Note the metallic headline - as in Iron Lady.

The Star in Sheffield, also in black and white, takes a more bullish line. It shows a picture from the Battle of Orgreave in 1984 when a mass picket of miners was met with a massive body of police officers - a brutal and violent confrontation. Memories run deep in the mining communities and The Star reflects that.

It wasn't just the Northern mining communities that were affected by the pit closures. Wales was also hit badly. The South Wales Evening Post reflects the view of the majority of its readers - that Wales will also never forgive her. 

The Western Mail also recognises that it is what Thatcher did to the mining industry that she will be remembered for. The word that defines her legacy in Wales is coal.

The Nottingham Post also covers a mining area - but strives for balance. The paper goes for a straight headline but the quote 'we are not sorry to see her go' no doubt reflects the view of many of its readers.

The Scotsman also goes with a black and white image, perhaps a little more sympathetic than those chosen by The Northern Echo and the Sheffield Star, and concludes that she divided the nation. No doubt about that.

Elsewhere in the regions there are more positive stances. The Worcester News goes for the former PM's relationship with Worcester ... and uses a picture of her visiting the Elgar Birthplace Museum.

Meanwhile the Eastern Daily Press opts for colour and a straight headline.

Over on the nationals, the most positive position is, not surprisingly, taken by the Daily Mail. Not the woman who divided Britain or changed Britain ... but the woman who saved Britain. The choice of picture also portrays a softer tone.

The same back-lit picture wipes out the front of The Daily Telegraph to create a dignified and subtle front which requires no headline.

The Times takes a different stance from everyone else. Having opted for one of its trademark wraparounds it needs a horizontal photograph. It selects one of a triumphant Thatcher in Moscow and angles in on her role in the dismantling of the Eastern Bloc. Good concept ... and strong front page. But on the day of the death of a former Prime Minister, you might think it an odd decision to take over the back page with a car roof, tower blocks and forlorn people in fur hats.

Inside the wrap, the paper plays it straight with an archetypal picture and factual headline.

Like many of the regional papers The Guardian goes for a severe black and white portrait to illustrate a Hugo Young epitaph, written in 2003. Interesting use of a yellow headline.

The Independent also goes for a black and white picture. With its tilted crop, gaunt face and staring eyes it is, perhaps, the starkest of them all.

The Daily Mirror plays it pretty straight - with a sub deck questioning whether the woman who divided a nation should really be given a ceremonial funeral. 

Meanwhile, The Sun takes the oddest angle of all. Forget the tributes, just tell it like any other tabloid tale. They could have gone all the way with the rhyming headline ... Maggie dead as she read in bed ... but I guess Ritz is such a compelling word. Not what I was expecting. 

Much more predictable, over on the Left, the Morning Star is pretty forthright. Compare the headline 'The woman who tore Britain apart' to that of the Daily Mail's 'The woman who saved Britain' ... and you have a synopsis of Margaret Thatcher's 11-year premiership in a nutshell.

Nobody on the anti-Thatcher side, though, is quite as brutal as the Socialist Worker. Splattered blood on a grave? The depth of hatred is demonstrated by the fact that a newspaper really believes it is justified to report the death of an 87-year-old woman in such a way. 

Finally, here is a snapshot of the Left's view from abroad. France's Liberation simply labels Margaret Thatcher La grande faucheuse ... the grim reaper. 

To see all of the pages and those I have missed out visit the excellent #tomorrowspaperstoday and @suttonnick