this is a serious question, so if you could, serious answers please.
sat listening to radio 2, some woman has just been on talking of Thatcher's successes.
can someone please point any of these out to me.
Chat Forum
Thatcher's successes?
-
Posted 4 months ago #
-
The Falklands?
Posted 4 months ago # -
mr whippy.
Posted 4 months ago # -
Maintaining the status quo between the "haves" and "have nots"
Posted 4 months ago # -
Broke the stranglehold of the unions that was bringing the country to it's knees in the late '70s which encouraged much greater amounts of foreign investment (Toyota/Honda/Nissan as an example)
Posted 4 months ago # -
She broke the union stranglehold on the labour market and british industry.
Revitalised the country, that was a complete shit hole.
and smashed the Argies in the FalklandsPosted 4 months ago # -
She was more successful at destroying British industry than the Luftwaffe..
Posted 4 months ago # -
mr whippy
Oh yeah, and that.
Posted 4 months ago # -
...try the search function. This one has been done to death recently.
Posted 4 months ago # -
funny how british industry thought she was great.
so not sure I follow that one.opened up the city, right to buy council homes, changed the way Britain was seen in the world, negotiated the EU rebate etc etc
Posted 4 months ago # -
Well, Britain in the 70s was a pretty unappealing place for many really. Massive income tax and not a lot to show for it. So that changed in the 80s; how much of that was due to Thatcher, and whether the UK became a better place for her input, is something not everyone agrees on....
Posted 4 months ago # -
Irritating the hell out of TJ and Elfin.
Posted 4 months ago # -
right to buy council homes
depends if you think affordable social housing is a good thing or not.
negotiated the EU rebate
although not enough to make us anythign other than a net contributer.
She did unite most of the country when the poll tax was brought in
Posted 4 months ago # -
poll tax that worked well
she did a lovely resigination speech iirc
Britain in the 70s was a pretty unappealing place for many really. Massive income tax and not a lot to show for it. So that changed in the 80s;
what was the unemployment rate in the 80's and the noirth/south divide and the overall tax burden
TaPosted 4 months ago # -
Reducing the top income tax rate from 95%
Posted 4 months ago # -
Irritating the hell out of TJ and Elfin.
Oh yeah, and that
Posted 4 months ago # -
industrial output fell 3% in her years to 25% of the economy, so not the devastation Labour are still claiming now, the devastation came in the 90's under Blair/Brown where industrial output fell more like 10% to just 12% of the economy.
The big winners under Labour were bankers and estate agents and public sector.
manufacturing was just argued over and no one did anything to help it, or rather we all wanted cheap bike bits from China.Posted 4 months ago # -
Sancho - Member
industrial output fell 3% in her years to 25% of the economy, so not the devastation Labour are still claiming now, the devastation came in the 90's under Blair/Brown where industrial output fell more like 10% to just 12% of the economy.do you want to try and make less simplistic?
Posted 4 months ago # -
the devastation came in the 90's under Blair/Brown where industrial output fell more like 10% to just 12% of the economy
Did industrial output actually 'fall' or did other industries just increase faster and thus make up more of the overall total?
Posted 4 months ago # -
what was the unemployment rate in the 80s and the north/south divide and the overall tax burden
How you view that depends on how you view the omelette / broken egg ratio.
Posted 4 months ago # -
Privatisation of a lot of stuff that should never have been operated by the government because the private sector was or would have done it perfectly well? e.g. Sealink, all the motor manufacturers...
The Falklands?
The re-occupation of the Falklands was a military success (in its own terms, I suppose) but the total lack of anticipation and preparedness was a huge failure, which is why Peter Carrington (showing a degree of personal integrity uncommon in politics) respected the tradition of ministerial responsibility and resigned at the time:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/6546223.stm
http://www.margaretthatcher.org/document/112604Posted 4 months ago # -
Reducing the top income tax rate from 95%
Wrong. Top rate of income tax was never 95% (despite Beatles lyrics). Thatcher cut top rate from 83% to 60% in 1979.Posted 4 months ago # -
right to buy council homes
Nope, there had always been a right to buy, just previously you had to pay the market price - what she did was gerrymandering IMO
Posted 4 months ago # -
Removing any possible ambiguity about who your enemy was.
See also: Call-Me-Dave
Oh... and fuelled some cracking satirical comedy. Ie: Spitting Image
Posted 4 months ago # -
Reducing the top income tax rate from 95%
Depends on how you look at it
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harold_Wilson
By 1974, the top-rate of income tax reached its highest rate since the war, 83%. This applied to incomes over £20,000 (£155,247 as of 2012),[17], and combined with a 15% surcharge on 'un-earned' income (investments and dividends) could add to a 98% marginal rate of personal income tax.
Posted 4 months ago # -
what she did was gerrymandering IMO
Spot on! Taken to its logical conclusion by 'Dame' Shirley Porter
Posted 4 months ago # -
Thatchers greatest success has been to privatise profits and nationalise loses. Something that continues to this day. The idea of cross subsidising has gone out the window.
Posted 4 months ago # -
It wasn't gerrymandering at all - gerrymandering is redrawing political district lines for partisan gain.
Posted 4 months ago # -
Encouraging the right to buy was a good thing - if you wanted proof just visit any estate where a good percentage of people had bought versus an estate where they hadn't.
one would be nice and tidy and the other a sh1thole.
(everyone I saw, anyway...)
Posted 4 months ago # -
She personally ordered the hereford hooligans to have some fun at princes gate. Good job they didnt **** it up.
Posted 4 months ago # -
It wasn't gerrymandering at all - gerrymandering is redrawing political district lines for partisan gain.
Silly old district auditors getting that one wrong then:
Definitely not gerrymandering then?
Though I suppose for the actual dictionary definition of gerrymandering, you'd have to look instead at what Call Me Dave is up to now. That sticks to the more traditional trick of actually changing borders to your advantages
Tories eh? Got to love 'em.
Posted 4 months ago # -
Encouraging the right to buy was a good thing - if you wanted proof just visit any estate where a good percentage of people had bought versus an estate where they hadn't.
one would be nice and tidy and the other a sh1thole.
The 70's wasn"t that bad a time, life got worse in the 80's, most council estates were working class before the 80's, she created the underclass that dragged them down to a new low.
Posted 4 months ago # -
Irritating the hell out of TJ and Elfin.
Yeah but me and TJ irritate the hell out of people like you, so you've autopwned there.
We're as successful as Thatcher! Woot!
Encouraging the right to buy was a good thing - if you wanted proof just visit any estate where a good percentage of people had bought versus an estate where they hadn't.
What like mine, where there are loads of privately owned flats which are mostly inhabited by people who need to claim housing benefit as the private rents are over twice what the HA rents are, thus costing the taxpayer more than if they were all still social housing?
I'm struggling to see much she did that was actually beneficial to Society.
But then, she din't believe in Society, did she?
Posted 4 months ago # -
As above. In addition, in a mans world a woman dared to stand up and boy did she do so.
My favourite NuLabour success was having the balls to face down their traditional voters/habits and ban smoking in pubs. That took serious balls IMO (no not Ed, although he may be serious
)
Posted 4 months ago # -
din't believe in Society
Well in the famous quote she wanted people to take responsibility for themselves rather than rely on society. Perhaps she could have said it better.
Posted 4 months ago #
Reply »
You must log in to post.
