Reply to: Some people take this "Thatch" hatred too far

[Bagpuss]

And the downside was?

I graduated July 1990. I had a grant. Thatcher departed 22nd November 1990. So she must have abolished the grant in those last four months then? er... no. the grant was abolished in 1999 under the New Labour government.

Not quite true, Grants were started to be phased out if not under Thatcher then under her replacement. The student loans company was founded in 1990 (as the gradual replacement for maintenance grants). I was at uni in the early 90s and remember the grant being reduced each year and the loan element rising.

[shaunbhoy]

Next time you could save time by taking my sig to heart.

You seem extraordinarily proud of it sasguru, but for no obvious reason.
It is, in tandem with so much of what you contribute, completely devoid of any trace of humour, pertinence, or originality of thought.
Keep on trying though, the forum loves a trier.

[RichardCranium]

Hmm what if Bob Showwaddwadi ran the railways ?

Why not? Mr Singh and Winston have been running the London underground for nearly 50 years.

[Peoplesoft bloke]

Except Bob Crow

Hmm what if Bob Showwaddwadi ran the railways ?

[amcdonald]

Like it or not, we're in a global market. Nobody ever survived by sticking their heads in the sand and denying reality.

Except Bob Crow

[Sysman]

You know, they say someone knows that have lost an argument when they result to insults, never mind I'll give you another chance, given your anger issues. I know 'manufacturing' provided bigger tax revenues under Blair than the city of London did, but that's not manufacturing as Germany would know it. We are talking largely components, which isn't so impressive.

I believe that used ot be called light manufacturing and you could see it manifest by the replacement of factories and mills with industrial estates.

[Peoplesoft bloke]

the point is, even the professionals see it as rather pointless.
good for pub talk and thats about it

So you're saying the question about where we'd be without Thatch is one that can't possibly be answered - which was my point too.

[Sysman]

OK pull the plug on industry and pretend it's inevitable, doesn't seem to be the case for Germany however, their manufacturing has gone from strength to strength but then they were not such Milton Freeman zealots. Even the man himself realised his own failings.

Milton Friedman

The sad thing is that they were happy to leave all those workers with nothing to do. Some form of the back to work schemes mentioned in other threads recently could have helped greatly here, before the cost became so great.

Thought for the day. I can remember council house estates which had beautiful gardens. Hmm, decent homes that people whose economics circumstances meant they shouldn't be buying could have pride in where they lived.

[Peoplesoft bloke]

You have never met the woman yet you have a "Personal" as well as "ideological" dislike for her?

How bizarre.

Not at all. I personally dislike Robert Mugabe and Ian Huntly too.

[Spacecadet]

And the downside was?

I graduated July 1990. I had a grant. Thatcher departed 22nd November 1990. So she must have abolished the grant in those last four months then? er... no. the grant was abolished in 1999 under the New Labour government.

WHS - I got a grant in 97 and 98
I was fortunate to go to uni just before the fees were introduced.

Since then labour have done their best to force young people into a state of debt and at the same time devalue the very degrees they have got massively into debt for.

[SupremeSpod]

No

You have never met the woman yet you have a "Personal" as well as "ideological" dislike for her?

How bizarre.

[EternalOptimist]

What is your point?

the point is, even the professionals see it as rather pointless.
good for pub talk and thats about it

[Peoplesoft bloke]

Have you met Margaret Thatcher?

No

[Peoplesoft bloke]

what if? aka 'the counter-factual concept' in history. I used to do it as a historian - its about as much use as a global warming model

= fck all squared

What is your point?

[BlasterBates]

Lets face it, just suppose Labour had be in power since 1979, would the pits be open? would the steelworks be open? would they have done it in a painless way? I somehow doubt it. Of course they wouldn't have done it straight away they would have waited a bit until it all started fall apart, and because it would be unplanned and chaotic there wouldn't have been an orderly change to new industries.

In Germany the most painful reform was done by the SPD (the socialist party) simply because it all began to fall apart on their watch.

Gerhardt Schroeder is hated almost as much as Thatcher is.

It's just the mugs who happened to be in power at the time.