Former Conservative Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher has died of a stroke today at the age of 87.
Her death brought immediate reaction from those who 'loved or loathed' the former grocer's daughter from Grantham who became the longest serving British prime minister of the 20th century.
The news of her death was released by her spokesman Lord Bell who said she had passed away peacefully after a long battle with poor health.
Lord Bell said: "It is with great sadness that Mark and Carol Thatcher announced that their mother Baroness Thatcher died peacefully following a stroke this morning".
Baroness Thatcher will be honoured with a full state funeral at St Paul's Cathedral - the first for a politician since Winston Churchill in 1965.
The news prompted polarised opinions and tributes from both national and local figures.
Buckingham Palace said the Queen was sad to hear of Baroness Thatcher's death and was sending a private message of sympathy to the family.
Prime Minister David Cameron said: 'It was with great sadness that l learned of Lady Thatcher's death. We've lost a great leader, a great Prime Minister and a great Briton.
'As our first woman prime minister, Margaret Thatcher succeeded against all the odds, and the real thing about Margaret Thatcher is that she didn't just lead our country, she saved our country, and I believe she'll go down as the greatest British peacetime prime minister.
'Her legacy will be the fact she served her country so well, she saved our country and that she showed immense courage in doing so.
'And people will be learning about what she did and her achievements in decades, probably centuries to come. That's her legacy but today we must also think of her family.'
Labour leader Ed Miliband said Baroness Thatcher would be remembered as 'a unique figure', adding: 'She reshaped the politics of a whole generation.'
Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg commented: "Margaret Thatcher was one of the defining figures in modern British politics."
He added: 'She may have divided opinion during her time in politics but everyone will be united today in acknowledging the strength of her personality and the radicalism of her politics.'
"My thoughts are with her family and friends."
Local MPs of different political persuasions paid tribute to Lady Thatcher - a woman who split political opinion in life and continues to do so in death.
David Davis, Tory MP for Haltemprice and Howden, said: "Margaret Thatcher was the greatest of modern British Prime Ministers and was central to the huge transformation of the whole world that took place after the fall of the Soviet Union.
"Millions of people in Britain and around the world owe her a debt of gratitude for their freedom and their quality of life, which was made possible by her courageous commitment to the principles of individual freedom and responsibility. Her passing is a very sad event and she will be greatly missed."
Karl Turner, Labour MP for Hull East, tweeted: "Lady Thatcher our only ever woman Prime Minister. Whether loved or loathed, she achieved the highest political office against all odds. #RIP"
Andrew Percy, Tory MP for Brigg and Goole, tweeted: "Really sad to hear of Margaret Thatcher's passing."
Both later added further statements.
Mr Turner said: "Her policies were certainly destructive and divisive, she set about the trade union movement in a deliberate way to achieve her economic goals and to an extent it worked, but unemployment rocketed in the north particularly – the north/south divide exists still because of the Thatcher government.
'But that said, she achieved a great deal as a woman getting to the top job, to do that and become PM was an incredible achievement and I sincerely mean that."
While Andrew Percy added: "It's very sad and we've certainly lost somebody who inspired many people around the world.
"Whatever you think about her politics, she had conviction and principles which we could do with a little more of in modern politics.
"Labour might criticise but they ended up copying a lot of her policies. The biggest myth of the Thatcher years was the North/South divide, when in fact she won more seats in the north of England than the Conservatives had before or since."
Hull City Council Conservative Group leader John Fareham said: "She helped lay the foundations for turning Hull from an industrial backwater into a modern, go-ahead city.
"Some would have loved it, some would have disagreed with it enormously but it was never dull in Hull when Margaret Thatcher was Prime Minister.
"The Conservative group never knew what we were going to have to stand up and defend – she was trying to change society."
Her one visit to Hull came in 1980 when she visited pharmaceutical company Smith & Nephew. Her trip coincided with national unrest and industrial action.
As many as 1,000 workers walked out of the factory prior to her visit in protest. Thatcher brushed it aside, saying: "I think it's a pity - but how nice it is to see so many here".
Joe Gibbons, Unison area organiser for Yorkshire and Humberside, said: "There will be no tears shed in this quarter but we wouldn't celebrate anybody's death.
"She had a legacy of the death of the manufacturing industry in this country and the beginning of the end of the Welfare State. Her legacy is not a legacy I ever wanted."
Margaret Thatcher came to power in May 1979 and stayed on as Prime Minister for 11 years - the longest run by any 20th century prime minister and earning her the title 'the Iron lady'.
She took over at the end of the infamous Winter of Discontent – when Britain was crippled by a wave of national strikes - and proceeded to spend the next ten years at war with the unions.
Mrs Thatcher successfully defied Arthur Scargill during the bloody and violent year-long miners' strike, which threatened to cripple Britain's entire economic base.
When Argentina invaded the Falklands, she sent a task force to the South Atlantic to win a war and her popularity soared as she won a landslide victory in her second election in 1983.
She survived the IRA attack on her in Brighton in 1984 and helped bring an end of the Cold War with the help of her friend, U.S. president Ronald Reagan.
At her peak, she was one of the most influential, controversial and powerful statesmen on the world stage.
However, in 1990, a leadership challenge forced her to leave No 10 and two years later she was made a life peer, as Baroness Thatcher of Kesteven.
In recent years she has led a quiet life cared for by her loyal housekeeper Kate. She suffered a minor stroke in 2002 which left her with short-term memory loss.
Her beloved husband Denis died in 2003 and her children Mark and Carol both live abroad.
Her health was thrust into the global spotlight this year with the release of a Hollywood film about her with Meryl Streep in the lead role.
London Mayor Boris Johnson said: "Very sad to hear of death of Baroness Thatcher. Her memory will live long after the world has forgotten the grey suits of today's politics."
Former Conservative prime minister Sir John Major described Baroness Thatcher as a 'true force of nature' and a 'political phenomenon'.
He said: "In government, the UK was turned around under - and in large measure because of - her leadership.
"Her reforms of the economy, trades union law, and her recovery of the Falkland Islands elevated her above normal politics, and may not have been achieved under any other leader.
"Her outstanding characteristics will always be remembered by those who worked closely with her: courage and determination in politics, and humanity and generosity of spirit in private."
Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith said Baroness Thatcher was 'the reason I came into politics'.
He said: 'Watching her set out to change Britain for the better in 1979 made me believe there was, at last, real purpose and real leadership in politics once again.'
However, there was also a backlash from people who disliked the former Prime Minister.
David Hopper, general secretary of the Durham Miners' Association said it was a 'great day' for coal miners.
The ex-miner, who turned 70 today, spent all of his working life at Wearmouth Colliery.
He said: 'It looks like one of the best birthdays I have ever had.
'There's no sympathy from me for what she did to our community. She destroyed our community, our villages and our people.
'For the union this could not come soon enough and I'm pleased that I have outlived her.'
And Paul Kenny, general secretary of the GMB union, said: 'Mrs Thatcher was a powerful politician who will be remembered by many for the destructive and divisive policies she reigned over which in the end, even in the Tory party, proved to be her downfall.
'Her legacy involves the destruction of communities, the elevation of personal greed over social values and legitimising the exploitation of the weak by the strong.'
And George Galloway, Respect MP for Bradford West. wrote on twitter; 'Tramp the dirt down.'
A Facebook campaign has also been launched to take Judy Garland song 'Ding Dong! The Witch is Dead' to number one following her death.
• Pictures: Margaret Thatcher in Hull and East Yorshire
