Both as a movie buff and a veteran leftie, I've been waiting to see The Iron Lady so I could write about it. I even re-read Thatcher's memoirs The Downing Street Years to refresh my memory.

Having now seen the movie, I have to admit that I'm perplexed as to what to say and advise, other than that you should definitely see it and make up your own mind.

Like 99.9 per cent of the critics, it must be said loud and clear that Meryl Streep's performance as Thatcher is magnificent, so much so as to justify seeing the movie for that alone. Above all, Streep is utterly compelling as an old and demented Thatcher, carrying on conversations with her dead husband Denis who is, for her, still present.

The G20 met last week to discuss global economic plans. To find out what their decisions would mean to the Left, Sasha Lilley speaks to Leo Panitch, a political science professor at York University and editor of the Socialist Register.

Sasha Lilley: This past Wednesday, before the start of the G20 Summit in London, France and Germany asked for more regulation as a response to the unraveling of the financial system. Meanwhile the U.S. has stated it would like to a see a co-ordinated global stimulus plan without such regulation. How do you see these divisions within the most powerful nations of the Group of 20?