Thatcher poll: worst or best

ILW

greenface wrote: »

As a 60s child from Merseyside seeing the torys close both my parents factorys they worked and my friends suicide due to no prospect at the victory of second term . No work and no way out for many people around .I left school in the early 80s surrounded by tory & MT hatred .I think she was just the big boss in a bad cart of rotten apples . (as every PM is ) Camel Lairds,Docks & Falklands & Hillsborough directly affecting my direct family i am just sorry to hear she died peacefully. But i do really dislike phoney blair , cameron & Major too.

Sort of sums up the whinging Scouse attitude.

All the clever ones bang on about the place but live in Surrey.

Thrugelmir

StevieJ wrote: »

But it wasn't screwed, inflation was falling, govt finances were improving rapidly and the unions were being confronted (the reason for the winter of discontent).

Funny how time befuddles the brain.

When Maggie came to power inflation was 22% and Unions still operated closed shops. So you had to join a Union to get a job!

Labour closed more mines between 1974 and 1979 than Mrs T did.

CLAPTON

greenface wrote: »

As a 60s child from Merseyside seeing the torys close both my parents factorys they worked and my friends suicide due to no prospect at the victory of second term . No work and no way out for many people around .I left school in the early 80s surrounded by tory & MT hatred .I think she was just the big boss in a bad cart of rotten apples . (as every PM is ) Camel Lairds,Docks & Falklands & Hillsborough directly affecting my direct family i am just sorry to hear she died peacefully. But i do really dislike phoney blair , cameron & Major too.

In what way did Thatcher close the factories?

Were they making things that people wanted to buy?

ILW

CLAPTON wrote: »

In what way did Thatcher close the factories?

Were they making things that people wanted to buy?

She went there and bricked the doors up so nobody could get in. Meanwhile millions of people were queing up to buy the products.

Thrugelmir

CLAPTON wrote: »

In what way did Thatcher close the factories?

Were they making things that people wanted to buy?

Docks were in decline by then. As ships grew in size then deep water anchorage became the issue. From the early 70's containerisation changed the way goods were shipped. No longer required the manpower to load and unload ships.

Liverpool was already in decline. Maggies attack on the Unions merely accelerated the envitable.

People always have to blame someone else for their woes. Not accept that since WW2 the world is changing ever faster.

The generation of the 50's had more in common with the Vikings than us today.

ukcarper

Thrugelmir wrote: »

Funny how time befuddles the brain.

When Maggie came to power inflation was 22% and Unions still operated closed shops. So you had to join a Union to get a job!

Labour closed more mines between 1974 and 1979 than Mrs T did.

Was it RPI 1978 8.3% 1979 13.4% 1980 18%

IronWolf

cepheus wrote: »

Here’s evidence to show Thatcher’s economic model didn’t work

All I can see there is that in the 70s, unemployment tripled. From 1980 to 1990 unemployment rose about 1% with tough times in between.

Oh and I see you make no mention of inflation, which was raging at 20%+ in the 70s and fell to under 5% by the mid 80s.

Typical left agenda, print print print, spend spend spend.

The British electorate that voted her into office in 1979, largely in frustration with Labour’s ineptitude. What followed was an economic revolution. She privatised state industries, refused to negotiate with the unions, abolished state controls, broke the striking miners and replaced Keynesianism with Friedman’s monetarism. The inflation rate fell from a high of 27% in 1975 to 2.4% in 1986. The number of working days lost to strikes fell from 29m in 1979 to 2m in 1986. The top rate of tax fell from 83% to 40%.

http://www.economist.com/news/leaders/21576094-now-especially-world-needs-hold-fast-margaret-thatchers-principles-freedom-fighter

Thrugelmir

dryhat wrote: »

Many people forget (or were not around at the time) - but after a few years in power, maggie was thoroughly despised in this country by the majority of the people.

As now Labour could offer no alternative. As the extreme left bore too more influence on the party. Blair has tried and failed to change the party. Current events show even now that the marxist traits of the Unions still linger on till this day.

The_White_Horse

The greatest PM this country ever had. We would be worse than Greece and Cyprus now if she hadn't come in. The Sick Man of Europe would by now be the Dying Man or Dead Man. Maggie saved us. Of course, some people didn't do as well as others, but a lot didn't really help themselves either. Crying about a pit closure 2 decades later is a bit much. Northerners need to stop t'supping pints down t'working mans t'club whilst watching t'peter kaye t'dvd's and start opening some businesses.

StevieJ

purch wrote: »

That must have been why she "only" managed a 10% swing in the 79 election

The Labour party weren't smart enough to employ an advertising company to run their campaign (Saatchi & Saatchi) who focused on the industrial disputes (evocative funeral operators strike) and of course that famous poster, showing workers queuing up at the Labour exchange with the slogan 'Labour isn't working' (they never used that again, for obvious reasons). Interesting to note the unemployment numbers in subsequent years.

Conservative Party treasurer, claimed that the poster won the election for the Conservatives