TRIBUTES have poured in for Margaret Thatcher, who had strong links with the News Shopper area.

Baroness Thatcher died peacefully in her sleep this morning following a stroke.

The former prime minister stood twice unsuccessfully to be Dartford's MP in 1950 and 1951 as she started her political career.

At just 24-years-old she was the youngest and only female to stand in a general election.

It was whilst she was campaigning in Dartford that she met her future husband Denis in 1951 at a Paint Trades Federation function in Dartford, where he offered her a lift home as she had missed her last train.

She later returned to the town when sheltered accomodation Thatcher Court, in North Street, was opened and named after her in 1984.

Dartford Council leader Councillor Jeremy Kite said: "There are few people of whom it can honestly be said they changed a nation but Lady Thatcher is one.

"Her connection with Dartford was a source of pride to us and when she came to a fundraising dinner in the town not long after she had left Downing Street it was obvious that she had some really warm memories of her time here.

"She sat at the table recounting tales of local people, Dartford neighbourhoods and polling stations as if it had been only yesterday, rather than forty years in which she had been one of the most important political leaders on the planet."

He added: “She gave Britain real leadership at a time when it greatly needed it and I think history will show her to be one of the greatest Prime Ministers.

“In terms of her legacy I think it is extraordinarily significant that of all the policies she introduced, some of them not without controversy, very few have gone on to be overturned.

“She caught the spirit of the age and was a leader of considerable vision.”

Dartford's MP Gareth Johnson added: "This is a sad day for Dartford.

"I had the honour of meeting her several times and we chatted about her experiences in Dartford.

"The town has lost someone who was part of its history yet her legacy will remain for many years to come.

“There are many activists in Dartford Conservative Association who actually helped campaign for Margaret Thatcher.

“You will still now hear them refer to her as Margaret Roberts, as that was her name at the time.”

Her spokesman, 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."

Buckingham Palace said: "The Queen is sad to hear the news of the death of Baroness Thatcher and Her Majesty will be sending a private message of sympathy to the family."

In a statement on the Downing Street Twitter feed, 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."

Lady Thatcher earned a place in the history books as the first woman prime minister when she entered Downing Street in 1979. Over the next 11 years even her critics admitted that she changed the face of the country.

In recent years her health deteriorated, and she stopped making public appearances.