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

[DodgyAgent]

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.

the reason there were no jobs was because the state had killed off all entrepreneurial spirit. All the leading industries were held in the grip of the Unions. There could be no expansion of manufacturing because industry was totally inefficient. Taxes were high in order to subsidise the inefficient nationalised industries.

Quite how you can agrue this defies any sort of logic. So what if we became a services industry country. The outcome of Thatcherism was to make the UK one of the top six economies of the world. The country was bust when it took over and you may want to blub your eyes out about all those who lost their jobs but these people were living lives of an entitlement paid for by everyone else.

We have again turned full circle with labour presiding over a reckless spending spree and failing to manage the financial services industry. Thatcher has gone just when we need another one like her.

t

[sasguru]

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

Britain with a population close to Germany's exports only 1/3 of Germany's exports by value.
It's not enough.

[gingerjedi]

Oh I don't know. Some footage of the 80s with associated soundtrack would be quite nice.

Hmm I like the Smiths.

[Mich the Tester]

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 Britsih, 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 we Germany, instead we went for the Emperors new close that made some rich for a certain period and now the cupboard is bare.

The car companies are now part of huge multinationals, most of whose shareholders are spread all over the world. Mini and Rolls Royce are perhaps exceptions as BMW is still about 40% a family owned business (and one of which the Quandt family should be very proud indeed; a fine example of how a family business can compete globally).

But Britain is still producing huge numbers of high quality cars. Jaguar, once notorious for breaking down, are now gaining an enviable reputation for reliability and quality.

[gingerjedi]

It cannot possibly be as bad as when Diana died.

Please no.

I remember the Sunday afternoon football was cancelled, Liverpool v Newcastle I think?

[Mich the Tester]

Britain with a population close to Germany's exports only 1/3 of Germany's exports by value.
It's not enough.

You're right but it's also nonsense to claim Britain doesn't make anything; Britain makes lots of good stuff. It just needs to make more of it, and perhaps industry would be assisted by getting the price of diesel down to competitive levels.

[DodgyAgent]

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.

what a load of cliche ridden rubbish. Thatchers job was to rescue the UK from the brink of collapse and build a strong economy that labour has since destroyed.

[MarillionFan]

Will Maggie be getting a large state funeral or will the socialist worked lefty apologists be up in arms to stop it.

At the end of the day Maggie only ****ed the trade unionists and the coal miners. Tony & Gordon ****ed the whole country.

[FiveTimes]

I remember the Sunday afternoon football was cancelled, Liverpool v Newcastle I think?

Correct. I was looking forward to it

[sasguru]

labour ....failing to manage the financial services industry.

Are you arguing for more red-tape in the financial services industry?
You can't even think straight.
I might just agree with your other points but this one is complete crap.
Labour left the financial services to run just as Thatcher had deregulated them with the big bang.