Economic mess daunting - Cameron

Thrugelmir

Generali wrote: »

I don't think that the Thatcher Government could do no wrong. For example, shadowing the DEM in the late 80s was a massive error which undid a lot of very good work.

AIUI, monetarism had been insisted upon by the IMF and was implemented by the Labour Government of the late 70s. It was continued by Howe as Chancellor of course.

I find it amazing that Thatcher's Governments are villified in the UK while the Tory and Labour Governments of the 60s and especially 70s which came close to destroying the country are largely ignored in popular history.

Are you refering to dynamic prime ministers such as Micheal Foot..........:rolleyes:

handful

Thatcher was just gaining office as I started working and I remember those days very well. What she did, like her or loath her, is make us take the medicine that was required and was single minded, determined and ruthless. She took the view, why waste time, you can't take 2 or 3 terms for granted when you could take a gentler course. Get on with it and get it over with, I for one hope Cameron has a similar appetite and b@lls for the job, although I somehow doubt it.

Generali

Thrugelmir wrote: »

Are you refering to dynamic prime ministers such as Micheal Foot..........:rolleyes:

Michael Foot was Leader of the Opposition in the 1980s but thankfully never PM.

His politics are not to my taste but he is a very bright lad and very interesting when talking about history. I remember him presenting Channel 4's program on the 200th anniversary of the Storming of the Bastille. Fascinating.

The 1983 General Election manefesto was described (by Dennis Healy?) as 'the longest suicide note in history'.

kennyboy66_2

Thrugelmir wrote: »

Are you refering to dynamic prime ministers such as Micheal Foot..........:rolleyes:

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JayScottGreenspan

Generali wrote: »

I find it amazing that Thatcher's Governments are villified in the UK while the Tory and Labour Governments of the 60s and especially 70s which came close to destroying the country are largely ignored in popular history.

It is odd, isn't it?

It's easy to see where her government succeeded and where they failed, but people like to pretend life is simpler than that. They like to pretend she is evil. Well I'm sorry, life is more complicated than that. Sometimes recognising the complexity of life can make us all better people.

Some people I know are planning to have a party when she dies. They might like to take a look in the mirror and have a little think about their actions.

Entertainer

Generali wrote: »

Michael Foot was Leader of the Opposition in the 1980s but thankfully never PM.

His politics are not to my taste but he is a very bright lad and very interesting when talking about history. I remember him presenting Channel 4's program on the 200th anniversary of the Storming of the Bastille. Fascinating.

The 1983 General Election manefesto was described (by Dennis Healy?) as 'the longest suicide note in history'.

Gerald Kaufman.

Whenever I want a good laugh, I read the 1983 Labour Party manifesto:

"We will:

Develop a new five-year national plan to coordinate expansion and public spending with plans for individual industries and regions. We will create a powerful new Department of Economic and Industrial Planning.

Support these agreed development plans with new industrial powers, including discretionary price controls, financial support and access to credit; and take powers to invest in individual companies, to purchase them outright or to assume temporary control.

We will establish a significant public stake in electronics, pharmaceuticals, health equipment and building materials; and also in other important sectors, as required in the national interest."

Forward comrades!!!

michaels

You laugh now but if it hadn't been for 3 dodgy Argentinian Generals then we would probably had had 5 years of that in practice.

History repeating itself, I wonder if we will see Labour in opposition in 12 months time heading towards a very similar place and the Tories in power being forced to reign in public expenditure and increase interest rates as unemployment climbs to 4.5m?!

Entertainer wrote: »

Gerald Kaufman.

Whenever I want a good laugh, I read the 1983 Labour Party manifesto:

"We will:

Develop a new five-year national plan to coordinate expansion and public spending with plans for individual industries and regions. We will create a powerful new Department of Economic and Industrial Planning.

Support these agreed development plans with new industrial powers, including discretionary price controls, financial support and access to credit; and take powers to invest in individual companies, to purchase them outright or to assume temporary control.

We will establish a significant public stake in electronics, pharmaceuticals, health equipment and building materials; and also in other important sectors, as required in the national interest."

Forward comrades!!!

ffacoffipawb

Old_Slaphead wrote: »

!!!!!! that was 1986 !!!!

Labour have had 12 years to do something about it but clearly they've been too busy 'investing' in unusable helicopters, quangos, "business consultants", [STRIKE]propaganda[/STRIKE] err advertising etc etc rather than improving infrastructure (see also the state of our roads)

... and illegal wars.

baileysbattlebus

We'll swap one Blaithatcherite for another -

It remains to be seen which one wil be the most incompetent.

Same hat - different colour.