Maggie Thatcher Is Dead.

[theblether]

The British working man stopped believing in a fair days work for a fair days pay, and we got what we deserved.............some of the industrial practises of the time were absolutely beyond belief.

I sat in a canteen in 1984 in BSC Ravenscraig and watched a vicious fight take place during a Union meeting, the Communists, ( yes we had communists, red stars on their caps, the whole works ) were demanding that we come out on strike to support the Miners. Other men objected as the miners had refused to support our Steel strike in 1980, one word led to another and a mass brawl broke out.

Entertaining as it was for an 18 year old to watch I'll never forget one guy saying, " the idea is a simple one, come to work, do your job, get paid, go home, not come to work and look for any excuse to go out on strike ".

I would suggest that just about anyone who was involved in the heavy industries during the 70's and 80's could tell you horror stories, deliberate sabotage, ( a regular occurrence in our steel works ) petty strikes, blah blah.....it was just unbelievable at times.

We working men were our own worst enemy, and if you don't believe that, you weren't there.

In the early days Thatcher had no choice, she had to do what she did re British nationalized industries.

She lost the plot later though with the poll tax, allowing Nigel Lawson to turn on the credit tap, and talking tough on Europe while folding behind the scenes. She stayed on for one election too many, it's as simple as that.

[naboo]

She created today's housing crisis. She created the banking crisis. And she created the benefits crisis. It was her government that started putting people on incapacity benefit rather than register them as unemployed because the Britain she inherited was broadly full employment. She decided when she wrote off our manufacturing industry that she could live with two or three million unemployed, and the benefits bill, the legacy of that, we are struggling with today. In actual fact, every real problem we face today is the legacy of the fact that she was fundamentally wrong.

Ken Livingstone's comment.

[JUDAS]

Maggie was the last British PM with the b@lls required to do the job.

[theblether]

Her great privatisation drive lined the pockets of her mates, and don't even get me started on the Falklands. The hag has the blood of our troops on her hands. Sent from my GT-N7000 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

X2.

The Falklands war was about privately owned mineral rights, as John Major knew to his personal profit.

Do you really believe this rubbish?

+1......pathetic.

[Morden]

Her great privatisation drive lined the pockets of her mates, and don't even get me started on the Falklands. The hag has the blood of our troops on her hands. Sent from my GT-N7000 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

X2.

The Falklands war was about privately owned mineral rights, as John Major knew to his personal profit.

Do you really believe this rubbish?

Coalite Company. Do your research.

[irishken]

While i do not agree with most of the violence in Northern Ireland i believe she prolonged the troubles up there by about 10 years and made the situation for John Major and others that followed more difficult so i won't miss her too much

[Totster]

Her great privatisation drive lined the pockets of her mates, and don't even get me started on the Falklands. The hag has the blood of our troops on her hands. Sent from my GT-N7000 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

X2.

The Falklands war was about privately owned mineral rights, as John Major knew to his personal profit.

Do you really believe this rubbish?

Coalite Company. Do your research.

Socialist proganda.. that's all

totster

[Totster]

While i do not agree with most of the violence in Northern Ireland i believe she prolonged the troubles up there by about 10 years and made the situation for John Major and others that followed more difficult so i won't miss her too much

No, That was the terrorists.

totster

[RAZZELL]

Her great privatisation drive lined the pockets of her mates, and don't even get me started on the Falklands. The hag has the blood of our troops on her hands. Sent from my GT-N7000 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

Blair - War in Iraq (x2). Troops and god knows how many lives lost (on both sides) in Afghanistan, Iraq, Kosovo, Sierra Leone and who knows where else...I know who I have more contempt for...

Bad taste rejoicing over someone's death, very bad taste. Pull yourselves together.

RAZZ

[theblether]

Her great privatisation drive lined the pockets of her mates, and don't even get me started on the Falklands. The hag has the blood of our troops on her hands. Sent from my GT-N7000 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

X2.

The Falklands war was about privately owned mineral rights, as John Major knew to his personal profit.

Do you really believe this rubbish?

Coalite Company. Do your research.

Let me guess, Thatcher sent a brown envelope down to Galtieri and said " do me a favour old son, go invade the Falklands for me so I can get re-elected, and John Major can make a few quid. "

I had a pal that served down there dragging the bodies out of the Sir Galahad and your writing drivel like this.

[evadgib]

Couldn't the usual culprits at least wait until after her funeral....?

(She was the best PM of my lifetime)

[naboo]

A quote from someone on Facebook.

Much as I loathed her policies I find that I cannot gloat at the death of Margaret Thatcher. I had a brief, shameful moment of it when I heard the news but now I just feel a sense of relief that some of the weight of anger about privatisation, the miner's strike, Clause 28, the sinking of the Belgrano etc etc that built up in me during the 1980s has been lifted, a little.

There are far more pressing concerns to deal with now, all of them knock-on effects, furtherations and poisonous mutations of Thatcher's doctrine of insularity, privatisation and selfishness, propounded and, piece by piece, implemented by smaller, crueller, more fearful and less cunning politicians.

I believe that the only way the left in Britain should mark her passing is to stand, calm and united, against her legacy; to be as effective as she was as agents of change. Her body is gone, but the body politic she created lives on. The only death I would be prepared to celebrate is the death of her ideas.

Anything else is just cruel and small and pointless, and likely to fuel the anger of those who supported her to a point where it would be impossible to reach any compromise.

[Chicog]

Her great privatisation drive lined the pockets of her mates, and don't even get me started on the Falklands. The hag has the blood of our troops on her hands. Sent from my GT-N7000 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

X2.

The Falklands war was about privately owned mineral rights, as John Major knew to his personal profit.

I was more referring to her carving up the military and leaving the islands undefended, then using the same troops and that scumbag Murdoch to get reelected.

Sent from my GT-N7000 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[englishinsiam]

She made it possible for those with get up and go to earn their way out of poverty.

She stood firm when our dying industries tried to hold a gun to her throat.

She reformed the country and got us out of a pit of national debt.

Her only real mistake for me was Poll Tax but who has ridiculous Council Tax bills now? We all do.

RIP Maggie you were one of the greats.

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[irishken]

While i do not agree with most of the violence in Northern Ireland i believe she prolonged the troubles up there by about 10 years and made the situation for John Major and others that followed more difficult so i won't miss her too much

No, That was the terrorists.

totster

not only the terrorists.she could have brought parties to the tables much earlier than they did.

[evadgib]

Will Yingluck attend the funeral?

I assume she's busy googling who Thatcher was....

Iron Maiden have already received her condolences:)

Edited April 8, 2013 by evadgib

[RAZZELL]

A quote from someone on Facebook.

Much as I loathed her policies I find that I cannot gloat at the death of Margaret Thatcher. I had a brief, shameful moment of it when I heard the news but now I just feel a sense of relief that some of the weight of anger about privatisation, the miner's strike, Clause 28, the sinking of the Belgrano etc etc that built up in me during the 1980s has been lifted, a little.

There are far more pressing concerns to deal with now, all of them knock-on effects, furtherations and poisonous mutations of Thatcher's doctrine of insularity, privatisation and selfishness, propounded and, piece by piece, implemented by smaller, crueller, more fearful and less cunning politicians.

I believe that the only way the left in Britain should mark her passing is to stand, calm and united, against her legacy; to be as effective as she was as agents of change. Her body is gone, but the body politic she created lives on. The only death I would be prepared to celebrate is the death of her ideas.

Anything else is just cruel and small and pointless, and likely to fuel the anger of those who supported her to a point where it would be impossible to reach any compromise.

Margaret Thatcher left office in 1990...23 years ago..I think you'd be hard pushed to blame her for todays "ill's"...

RAZZ

[Totster]

While i do not agree with most of the violence in Northern Ireland i believe she prolonged the troubles up there by about 10 years and made the situation for John Major and others that followed more difficult so i won't miss her too much

No, That was the terrorists.

totster

not only the terrorists.she could have brought parties to the tables much earlier than they did.

It's ALL the terrorists.. they could have stopped bombing, killing and maiming..

totster

[7by7]

Pre poll tax myself, two brothers, and my sister all lived with my parents. We all worked, and my father paid the rates.

Six working people paying the same in total as the one retired widow living next door.

How was that fair?

During the poll tax our household paid more in total; but the 6 of us each paid the same as the widow next door, who paid less than she had before.

Yet some people say that was unfair!

Unfortunately Thatcher did back down on this and so the council tax came into being, the rates by a different name, and we went back to the pre poll tax situation of 6 working people paying in total the same as one retired widow.

How is that fair?

Edited April 8, 2013 by 7by7

[balo]

THe iron lady has passed away . I'm not British but I will always remember what Winston Churchill and Thatcher did for the world.

[theblether]

While i do not agree with most of the violence in Northern Ireland i believe she prolonged the troubles up there by about 10 years and made the situation for John Major and others that followed more difficult so i won't miss her too much

No, That was the terrorists.

totster

not only the terrorists.she could have brought parties to the tables much earlier than they did.

Come on Ken, the IRA welcoming gift to Thatcher was to car bomb Airey Neave in the Parliamentary car park, The IRA were a vicious fighting machine in the early 80's and they pulled off some spectacular attacks such as on Mountbatten, Warrenpoint et al.......the IRA did a poor job of indicating they were ready for peace at that time eh?

[Morakot]

While i do not agree with most of the violence in Northern Ireland i believe she prolonged the troubles up there by about 10 years and made the situation for John Major and others that followed more difficult so i won't miss her too much

No, That was the terrorists.

totster

not only the terrorists.she could have brought parties to the tables much earlier than they did.

It's ALL the terrorists.. they could have stopped bombing, killing and maiming..

That's exactly what she said and thereby contributed the prolonging of the conflict.

[Morakot]

While i do not agree with most of the violence in Northern Ireland i believe she prolonged the troubles up there by about 10 years and made the situation for John Major and others that followed more difficult so i won't miss her too much

No, That was the terrorists.

totster

not only the terrorists.she could have brought parties to the tables much earlier than they did.

Come on Ken, the IRA welcoming gift to Thatcher was to car bomb Airey Neave in the Parliamentary car park, The IRA were a vicious fighting machine in the early 80's and they pulled off some spectacular attacks such as on Mountbatten, Warrenpoint et al.......the IRA did a poor job of indicating they were ready for peace at that time eh?

The demonisation contributed to a radicalisation and indirectly suppressed the more moderate elements.

[7by7]

The moderate elements having their kneecaps shot off by the Provos (and, to be fair, similar on the Unionist side) played no part in it, then?

[Totster]

not only the terrorists.she could have brought parties to the tables much earlier than they did.

It's ALL the terrorists.. they could have stopped bombing, killing and maiming..

That's exactly what she said and thereby contributed the prolonging of the conflict.

Sorry, I place the blame for terrorism at the terrorists feet. There is no grey line when it comes to killing innocent people and the soldiers sent there to protect them.

totster

[Jingthing]

She advanced feminism.

"I hate feminism. It is poison." - m. thatcher.

What she said or thought about feminism is irrelevant. Not talking here about bra burning style feminism. Talking about WOMEN IN POWER feminism and objectively despite her views she was a major force in advancing that. Being the first women head leader of a major western power , getting the office through her own merits , holding the office so long, being so strong and outspoken (not easy politically for woman in most cultures without being dismissed as the B word), and having a significant historical impact were all contributing factors. Doesn't mean I like her and most of what she did any more than she liked feminism but facts are facts.

Edited April 8, 2013 by Jingthing

[irishken]

While i do not agree with most of the violence in Northern Ireland i believe she prolonged the troubles up there by about 10 years and made the situation for John Major and others that followed more difficult so i won't miss her too much

No, That was the terrorists.

totster

not only the terrorists.she could have brought parties to the tables much earlier than they did.

Come on Ken, the IRA welcoming gift to Thatcher was to car bomb Airey Neave in the Parliamentary car park, The IRA were a vicious fighting machine in the early 80's and they pulled off some spectacular attacks such as on Mountbatten, Warrenpoint et al.......the IRA did a poor job of indicating they were ready for peace at that time eh?

I am not a fan of the IRA in anyway but they were not the only ones bombing in the north. She did not seem to realize that. Going into the rights and wrongs of the troubles up there would require a whole new forum altogether

[Totster]

She advanced feminism.

"I hate feminism. It is poison." - m. thatcher.

What she said or thought about feminism is irrelevant. Not talking her about bra burning style feminism. Talking about WOMEN IN POWER feminism and objectively despite her views she was a major force in advancing that. Being the first women head leader of a major western power , getting the office through her own merits, holding the office so long, and having a significant historical impact were all contributing factors. Doesn't mean I like her and most of what she did any more than she liked feminism but facts are facts.

I read an interesting article that said MT would not have liked to be called a feminist and she indeed hated the very notion of it, however there is no doubt that she empowered women, and the strong women you see in charge of large organisations in the UK now are a direct result of her influence.

totster

[jeanpierre]

is that the minister who chance the £ wallpaper?

[Ridler]

Ex-London mayor Ken Livingstone tells Sky News Baroness Thatcher's policies were "fundamentally wrong". "She created today's housing crisis, she produced the banking crisis, she created the benefits crisis. It was her government that started putting people on incapacity benefits rather than register them as unemployed because the Britain she inherited was broadly at full employment," he says.