Ding Dong we lost a great stateswomen - Margaret Thatcher has died

[ZARDOZ]

I remember the March for Jobs in 83, what is quite suprising looking back is the anguish, helplessness and indignation of those without jobs, actually desperate for the self respect from paid work. I can't see that happening today. The movement to long term benefit dependency started some time shortly after that to massage the unemployment statistics and 3 decades later this is what the nation has become.

Controlling the unions, was a good thing, if far too heavy handed. The wholesale movement to a monetarism and service industries was largely a mistake. It's lead to outsoucing, devaluation, banking collapse and privately run monopolies. The expansion of the welfare state to absorb the resulting unemployment has turned out to be the biggest social engineering mistake this country has ever seen.

I don't hate Thatcher I hate the short-sightedness of her dogmatic application of her chosen doctirine, it was a case of throwing the baby out with the bathwater.

[mudskipper]

IMVHO, the problem with the country today is that we don't make anything. We just push stuff around in an attempt to add value. So their aren't jobs for low skilled workers who would have traditionally manufactured stuff. All the wealth is off the back of other people. It's all a big bluff.

This is Thatcher's legacy. Yes, the unions also must take a big part of the responsibility, but if to rid the disease you fell the tree it's a bit of a pyrrhic victory.

Like many, my family was directly affected by the closure of the dockyard in Chatham. My father moved away to find work, but many didn't have that option. Medway turned from a reasonably prosperous working class area into a tuliphole.

The culture that she promoted was very much 'each man for himself' with very little consideration of the long term effects.

[Mich the Tester]

I remember the March for Jobs in 83, what is quite suprising looking back is the anguish, helplessness and indignation of those without jobs, actually desperate for the self respect from paid work. I can't see that happening today. The movement to long term benefit dependency started some time shortly after that to massage the unemployment statistics and 3 decades later this is what the nation has become.

Controlling the unions, was a good thing, if far too heavy handed. The wholesale movement to a monetarism and service industries was largely a mistake. It's lead to outsoucing, devaluation, banking collapse and privately run monopolies. The expansion of the welfare state to absorb the resulting unemployment has turned out to be the biggest social engineering mistake this country has ever seen.

I don't hate Thatcher I hate the short-sightedness of her dogmatic application of her chosen doctirine, it was a case of throwing the baby out with the bathwater.

Yep, I can agree on a lot of what you say but this is with the hindsight that she didn't have.

[Malcolm Buggeridge]

I see the Guardian has disabled its comments feature.

No doubt wanting to disassociate itself from the crass, childish, spiteful comments that would otherwise appear.

Just pathetic some of the comments going round from all these nice caring left wing folks on social media.

[Pondlife]

@cher's PA is going to tulip bricks when they log on to twitter today.

[Notascooby]

Dialled into a meeting being chaired by a guy from the NW.

"Sorry for being late, the phone's been off the hook - been invited to 3 parties already!"

She'll be dearly missed.

[original PM]

Maybe Thatcher saw that there was no way in the long term that a large low/non skilled manufacturing industry employing millions would be a beneift as there was no way to compete with China/Third world in terms of being able to produce the same standard of goods for anywhere the same cost.

And so by making the move 30 years ago we are 30 years further forward then if we had simply done nothing and let the reality casue mass unemployment in the last 10-15 years?

[ZARDOZ]

IMVHO, the problem with the country today is that we don't make anything. We just push stuff around in an attempt to add value. So their aren't jobs for low skilled workers who would have traditionally manufactured stuff. All the wealth is off the back of other people. It's all a big bluff.
.

The doomongers and UK knockers would have you believe that quality and desirability are not something we did well.

But then you only have to look at the best selling luxury/premium cars

Mini, Land Rover, Jaguar, Aston Martin, Rolls Royce, Bentley. All were British, all sell on their Britishness, all made by British workers, all owned by foreign companies who brought them back to life.

We could have been up there with Germany, instead we went for the Emperors new clothes that made some rich for a certain period and now the cupboard is bare and it's all gone overseas.

[Mich the Tester]

IMVHO, the problem with the country today is that we don't make anything. We just push stuff around in an attempt to add value.

https://www.smmt.co.uk/industry-topi...otive-sector/#

Manufacturing

The UK is home to:
Seven volume car manufacturers.
Seven commercial vehicle manufacturers.
10 bus and coach manufacturers.
Eight major premium and sports car producers, and over 100 specialist brands.
Eight Formula One teams.
Strong premium brands – second only to Germany in global market share.
Over one million vehicles and two million engines are produced in the UK each year.
Automotive manufacturing levels are set grow to pre-recession levels by 2014.
More than 75% of vehicles manufactured in the UK are exported.

Supply chain

At present, about 80% of all component types required for vehicle assembly operations can be procured from UK suppliers.
The UK automotive supply chain typically generates £4.5 – £5bn of added value annually.
Around 2,350 UK companies regard themselves as ‘automotive’ suppliers, employing around 82,000 people (42% tier one, 19% tier two, 34% tier one and two).
It is estimated that every job in UK vehicle assembly supports 7.5 elsewhere in the economy.
Of all UK suppliers, over 70% manufacture their products in the UK.

[sasguru]

Maybe Thatcher saw that there was no way in the long term that a large low/non skilled manufacturing industry employing millions would be a beneift as there was no way to compete with China/Third world in terms of being able to produce the same standard of goods for anywhere the same cost.

And so by making the move 30 years ago we are 30 years further forward then if we had simply done nothing and let the reality casue mass unemployment in the last 10-15 years?

Complete bollux. One word for you: Germany.