22 OCTOBER 1988, Page 29

Louts' love

Sir: What a pity Margaret Thatcher wilfully rejects the love of one group of her most fervent admirers. Does Auberon Waugh not know that, unlike left-wing intellec- tuals and members of the IRA, drunken soccer hooligans and lager louts love Mag- gie, and see her quite clearly as their leader?

I discovered while interviewing these people in Nottingham and Tottenham that they adore the Prime Minister on several levels. First, she represents the kind of powerful mothering they never had — they love strong combative women; secondly, they see in her all the xenophobia and belligerence that they themselves feel.

Jane Kelly

The Mail on Sunday, Carmelite House, London EC4