Thatcher takes tea with Gordon Brown

LONDON, Sept. 13 (UPI) -- Former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher returned to her old home Thursday for a visit and tea with the current prime minister.

Thatcher, now Baroness Thatcher, was invited after an exchange of letters with Prime Minister Gordon Brown immediately after he succeeded Tony Blair, Sky News reported.

At a news conference last week, Brown said he admired Thatcher for recognizing the need for the country to change.

"I also admire the fact that she is a conviction politician,” he said. "I am a conviction politician like her."

Thatcher, the first woman to head a British political party or to serve as prime minister, became Conservative Party leader in 1975 and prime minister four years later. She served for 11 years, the longest period in office in more than a century.

Blair led Labor through victories in three consecutive elections, a first for the party, and came close to tying Thatcher’s tenure in office.