Nominations for the Deathlist 2010?

[Paulus]

Because monetary policy was a roaring success, wasn't it?

Mrs T and her government deregulated the banks leading to the current mess, sold off all our utilities for a low price to the people who already owned them, us, so that they could make a few bob selling the shares still at a low price so that the big institutions could buy them cheaply and sell them to foreign companies.
The council houses were sold off as a vote winning measure, despite the local councils losing the rent available on the properties for the next century. Now there are not enough social housing available for those who need it.
This country also once had a manufacturing base, we sold things to the rest of the world to bring money into this country. Not much now, unless you are in the banking and finance sectors, which brings me back to top of my post.

 

[Bad Company]

Because monetary policy was a roaring success, wasn't it?

Yes.

 

[ChrisKH]

My mother-in law according to my youngest son (7).

They don't get on at all (the eldest is her favourite) and more recently she was goading him and said "I thought you were clever, why can't you tie your shoe laces yet?" To which he replied without missing a beat "I thought you were old, why aren't you dead yet?" I had to bite my tongue. Fortunately Mrs KH turned round to both of them and said "Who's the child? Apologise to your grandmother. And you mother, should know better. Stop winding him up".

 

[ianrauk]

lol, you bought him up well Chris

My mother-in law according to my youngest son (7).

They don't get on at all (the eldest is her favourite) and more recently she was goading him and said "I thought you were clever, why can't you tie your shoe laces yet?" To which he replied without missing a beat "I thought you were old, why aren't you dead yet?" I had to bite my tongue. Fortunately Mrs KH turned round to both of them and said "Who's the child? Apologise to your grandmother. And you mother, should know better. Stop winding him up".

 

[Over The Hill]

I was amazed that Michael Foot was alive (up until yesterday that is).

From what I remember of him he was a doddery old bloke back in 1972. Worryingly he must have been about my present age back then.

 

[rich p]

I was amazed that Michael Foot was alive (up until yesterday that is).

From what I remember of him he was a doddery old bloke back in 1972. Worryingly he must have been about my present age back then.

Pssssst, have you seen your forum name?

 

[TheDoctor]

Didn't we once have a manufacturing industry, coal mines, a sense of society?
All gone under Thatcher. The sooner the evil old bat snuffs it the better IMHO.
And yes, I'll celebrate. Too flaming right I will.

Fair enough, you concentrate on the only flaws in her stint as PM. You just forget all the good work she did, i suppose?

Clause 28, selling off the railways (as well as everything else), unemployment at 3 500 000 as a price well worth paying to bring inflation down, VAT from 7.5% to 17.5%, Poll Tax, support for the apartheid regime in South Africa, support for the Pinochet regime in Chile, her son getting a £5 000 000 kickback from arms dealing with the Saudis. You want me to go on?
I'd mention the good things she did if only I could think of any.

 

[Over The Hill]

You missed taking the milk from kids!

Actually most of what she did was spot on. We were paying ourselves too much and doing a crap job at most things.

The Doctor- do you really think we should have thrown taxpayers money at a factory hanging on to outdated work practices and making Austin Allegros?

Without Thatch we would have slid back to being a third world country by now. She also re-negotiated our contribution to Europe and saved us billions.

 

[Dave Davenport]

IMO Thatcher is significantly responsible for the selfish, materialistic, but in many ways not actually very happy society we now live in. She was content to see British industry and communities decimated in order to win her ideological battle with the unions.

 

[Happiness Stan]

I'd mention the good things she did if only I could think of any.

She extended licensing hours!

 

[Paulus]

She extended licensing hours!

I think that may of been John Major.

 

[TheDoctor]

You missed taking the milk from kids!

The Doctor- do you really think we should have thrown taxpayers money at a factory hanging on to outdated work practices and making Austin Allegros?

A good case could be made. As it is, the British car industry was flogged off for a song, a few people made a packet and the workers lost their jobs and are presumably now on benefits. The manufacturing sector wasn't all Red Robbo and his like, but it's still all gone.

Without Thatch we would have slid back to being a third world country by now. She also re-negotiated our contribution to Europe and saved us billions.

And the one-off windfall of North Sea oil was squandered on benefit payments and tax cuts. It could (and should) have been invested in transport infrastructure and modernising industry, rather than cutting the higher rates of income tax. However, I suspect we're never going to agree on this, and we've gone some way OT anyhow.

 

[darkstar]

You really think the manufacturing industry would still be alive and well without Thatcher? Globalisation can be cruel, but soon enough those companies would have made their own minds up.

 

[mr_cellophane]

You missed taking the milk from kids!

Actually most of what she did was spot on. We were paying ourselves too much and doing a crap job at most things.

The Doctor- do you really think we should have thrown taxpayers money at a factory hanging on to outdated work practices and making Austin Allegros?

Without Thatch we would have slid back to being a third world country by now. She also re-negotiated our contribution to Europe and saved us billions.

We threw tax payers money at a modern factory making Hillman Imps (wonderful car, owned 2 and if Mrs C would let me I'd get another one ). But what happened - the engine castings were made in Linwood, Glasgow sent to Ryton, Coventry to be machined and assembled, and then sent back up to be put on the cars - a 600-mile (970 km) round trip. Each car was sold at a loss. Not helped by 31 industrial stoppages in one year.

If we'd had a Thatcher 40 years ago, the unions would never have got the power they had during the 60's & 70's and we would now have a modern manufacturing industry to be proud of.

 

[Happiness Stan]

I think that may of been John Major.

No it wasn't. If there is one piece of legislation I recall, it's this one:

http://195.99.1.70/acts/acts1988/ukpga_19880017_en_1

I've not been home since.