What were you doing when Thatcher was at the peak of her power?

[TestMangler]

Started my first job in 1979, in the Civil service (National Engineering Laboratory in East Kilbride), before anyone thinks I had a pen pusher job in some tulipty government dept. We did cutting edge engineering research. Stayed there until (eventually) getting V.R. in 1994, which was the best thing that ever happened to me (aside from Motherwell winning the Scottish Cup in '91). The 'if you need something, design, build and make it yourself' type of culture at the N.E.L, especially at a time when IT was starting to boom on the PC front, got me my first contracts building prototypes for IBM before getting in to 'proper' contracting a year or so later (mostly in insurance/finance).

Not sure what effect Thatcher had on my relative success, but I've never had any cause for complaint with my lot in life, but am firmly in the 'get off your arse and do it' camp rather than the 'please help me, I'm falling' camp who seem to detest her.

[Doggy Styles]

Not sure what effect Thatcher had on my relative success, but I've never had any cause for complaint with my lot in life, but am firmly in the 'get off your arse and do it' camp rather than the 'please help me, I'm falling' camp who seem to detest her.

WHS

[Ignis Fatuus]

The country needs a strong leader to get itself out of the present mess, pity there isn't an up and coming forceful personality like Thatcher coming up.

Oh what a load of the most godawful bollocks. A strong leader is invariably disastrous except in the (very, and blessedly) rare cases where the people and their challenges are ready for it (Churchill maybe; Lincoln; other good strong leaders are available but not here and now). What the country could do with now is a decent intelligent perceptive principled government. A step towards that might be a sensible forward-looking unselfish educated populace.

I don't see it, especially here. Mich the Tester's sig applies.

[Ignis Fatuus]

Not sure what effect Thatcher had on my relative success, but I've never had any cause for complaint with my lot in life, but am firmly in the 'get off your arse and do it' camp rather than the 'please help me, I'm falling' camp who seem to detest her.

So am I. But, since people ask, I am quite sure that Thatcher has nothing to do with either such success as I may have had, or my get-on-yer-bike brio. I'd be happy to brag about my enterprise and commitment to work if you like. I just don't think Thatcher (or anybody else outside my family and maybe my Scottish society) had anything to do with it.

[MyUserName]

I was in school. I hated thatcher because everyone i knew hated thatcher because I lived in an ex mining town in south Wales.

I don't know enough about politics or economics to critique her policies but I know better than to argue for them in a pub in the valleys!

[socialworker]

About the same time as Grunwick - didn't that have something to do with Indians?

Er, yes there were quite a few indian people in north west London at the time. I don't think they caused the downfall of british manufacturing industry. In fact probably they kept the firm I used to work for going for longer than it might have done.

[Sysman]

It depends on which period you consider to be the peak of her power.

If that was just after the Falklands War, I was already in Europe.

I arrived back in the UK in 87 when things were supposed to be much better and did have a couple of good years, but it rapidly went downhill once the interest rates got hiked.

I dearly wished I hadn't gone back.

[sasguru]

Could Farage be this next messiah?

Delusion and hope are eternal.

[fullyautomatix]

Not sure what effect Thatcher had on my relative success, but I've never had any cause for complaint with my lot in life, but am firmly in the 'get off your arse and do it' camp rather than the 'please help me, I'm falling' camp who seem to detest her.

The core labour vote base still have that same attitude of "I am british, the state should help me live a royal life". That is the reason why Labour's social engineering tactics have wrecked the country. It has made people completely dependent on the state and made them feel that hard work does not pay. There are millions who work part time or not work at all because they get more in benefit hand outs if they stayed at home. It is that lot that keep hating her and blame her for their own failures.

[sasguru]

Argue what? You called me a misogynist, but you've offered nothing to stand up the accusation. Calling me names is not making a case.

It is with Dodgy - he doesn't have anything of substance to add since he's too thick to follow a logical argument.