Margaret Thatcher’s disciples are among the noisiest campaigners for Britain to vote to leave the EU on Thursday. But you probably won’t see them wearing a very Thatcherite item of clothing at the polling booths.
The nine-flags knit, a jumper worn by Thatcher on the campaign trail in the 70s in support of the European trade agreement, has been revived by the design collective Common Market. It is a visual reminder of the 1975 European referendum, when Britain chose overwhelmingly to stay within what was then the EEC.
The jumper features flags of the nine countries that made up the (other) common market. It was designed as a one-off for the newly appointed Conservative leader by a now defunct woollen mill in Scotland and its whereabouts are currently unknown (Christie’s says it did not appear in the auction of Thatcher’s possessions last December), although it is likely in the possession of her estate.
Emma Shore and Alasdair Hiscock had the idea of reproducing the jumper just after the vote was announced. As designers based in London, they say the outcome of the referendum will have a real impact on their future. Their impetus, says Shore, is “historical rather than political”; the picture of Thatcher in the sweater is one of the few images of her without her signature power suit. “We like the contradiction it throws up, of the image of Thatcher and the remain campaign together in one shot,” adds Shore. “And if it gets young people asking questions, voting, or just inspires some sort of informed debate around the idea of a common Europe, then that’s good.”
It might be tricky for some people to wear the jumper of the British left’s bête noire. But while Thatcher wasn’t exactly pro-Europe – after winning office in 1979, she pushed back against Brussels, and her 1990 tirade against EC president Jacques Delors helped lead to her downfall – she did sign the the Single European Act in 1986, which helped create the single market (though she later said she regretted it).
In the 70s, Tory nationalists backed a tight union – they even used the slogan: “Support your local continent.” The idea behind today’s knitwear, however, is not to sway voters. As Shore says: “It would be troubling if a jumper had that much power.”
