Margaret Thatcher's toxic legacy

[AtW]

So are you saying she should have gone out and borrowed money on the slate to pour into manufacturing?

It is an entirely fair criticism that she should have invested in infrastructure projects to keep Engineering alive. The damage to British manufacturing was done well before she arrived.

It was damaged but it was not hopeless. Right now it probably is as it's 30 years too late - whole generation is done and Unis now teach "media studies" or foreigners like myself who can barely speak English

What she should have done is create tax incentives to create competitive engineering and other industries, instead she prepared a timebomb in form of the City.

The rest of the country was supporting inefficient industries in order to keep the Unions happy. By the time she arrived there was no more money left.

Or maybe the industries supported the country so that it does not look like just full of hot speculative air.

It cracks me up how some people say that manufacturing isn't that profitable, ffs - it gives you some bloody substance, something material - keeps people employed rather than on the dole.

[AtW]

The industries that survived have done well and are still doing well.

Give me example of these industries.

Rover was certainly something of a Lada, however do you know how many people are involved in making Ladas still? Not 6000 as they were at Rover, but more like 130000!

Mrs T had very good external PR, but the more I look into actual history of this country after having lived here for over 13 (!) years the more I realise what kind of propaganda bulltulip her PR was.

[Mich the Tester]

British manufacturing isn't doing badly. There are now more cars produced in Britain than ever before (by Japanese and German companies), the aero engine industry (Rolls Royce) is very strong, with a reputation for the very best quality and the arms industry is strong. The British chemical industry is strong. All these industries were privatised by Mrs T and the companies competed for their existence and won.

[Mich the Tester]

Give me example of these industries.

Rover was certainly something of a Lada, however do you know how many people are involved in making Ladas still? Not 6000 as they were at Rover, but more like 130000!

Yes, so it was good to let Rover go. There are 130000 people at Lada producing stuff nobody wants, and massive cuts are on the way with all the social unrest that will bring.

[minestrone]

People who think that industry died in the 80s know very little about Engineering. People who think engineers work on a line with greasy overalls drinking milky tea all day.

I graduated in Engineering in 95 I think and there were jobs about, loads. There would have been none for me in 75.

AtW, stick to running your wee screen scraper, you know bugger all about engineering and it shows.

[AtW]

Yes, so it was good to let Rover go.

I don't share this view.

This Rover problem wasn't entirely Nu Liebor fault - if Thatcher was so ******* good she'd create conditions that would have enabled British industry to emerge 10-15 years later as winners. She did **** all to help and sure did a lot to make sure it never happens, bigger margins in the financial services eh?

In 1979, British Leyland (or as it was now officially known, BL Ltd.) began a long relationship with the Honda Motor Company of Japan. The result was a cross-holding structure, where Honda took a 20% stake in the company while the company took a 20% stake in Honda's UK subsidiary. The deal was thought to be mutually beneficial: Honda used its British operations as a launchpad into Europe, and the company could pool resources with Honda in developing new cars.

Whose watch was that under, Mrs Thatchers? Why didn't they sell 51% to Honda or bloody 100% if necessary on a condition R&D and assembly happens in the UK. The fact that only small shareholding was sold created a timebomb that exploded under Major's Govt.

[Gibbon]

[QUOTE=Mich the Tester;1086190] the aero engine industry (Rolls Royce) is very strong, with a reputation for the very best quality QUOTE]

You're far to kind, thanks

[Mich the Tester]

[QUOTE=Gibbon;1086197]

the aero engine industry (Rolls Royce) is very strong, with a reputation for the very best quality QUOTE]

You're far to kind, thanks

Well alright, less tulip than the septics

[d000hg]

Give me example of these industries.

You're the one who searched 1 trillion web-pages. Look through your data...

[vetran]

Watch "the strike" actually reminded me of those days. The closed shop attitude the sense of entitlement etc.

Coal mining was dragging us down as were other traditional industries. Something needed to be done.

The industries could make money but didn't because of poor management and staff relations. That's gone thanks to Maggie and co. The GPO slimmed down and became BT, Gas board became british gas, Corus emerged pheonix like from British steel.