Happy Margaret Thatcher Day everyone!

[Bernard Flint]

Do you remember when they booed as Maggies coffin went past? Have you ever heard any right wing supporters being so inhumane - never.

The point was that Mrs. Thatcher was one of the most inhumane right wingers of all time with an almost pathological hatred of the working class, smashing unions, promoting greed and selfishness, depleting the country's stock of social housing, destroying the coal industry, getting young men killed in a pointless war, inequitable taxation, flogging off industries, even snatching milk from the hands of young children. She was the vilest of women, and I was glad when she left office and could do no more harm.

Smashing one union, the communist SCUM Scargill, Goarrrrrrrrrrrrrn Maggie hahahahahahha. Produced far too much coal, due to triple shifts, most miners were sleeping and getting paid for it too.Then Scargil said strike, but if u will not, then the other miners will beat you and family

[Mexlark]

Yup she stood up to fascist bullies

Good god, man, are you really so totally out of touch with reality? She was the fascist bully - fascist bully par excellence.

You seem to be rather out of touch with reality yourself.You might wish to educate yourself by reading Charles Moore's excellent biography, the first two volumes of which have been published.

Moore does not gloss over her faults but one is left in no doubt her achievements were very great.Still the whining of embittered left will no doubt continue.

So by that reckoning the left-wing are actually fascists, while the right-wing are the real revolutionaries. Nice!

Strangely enough, there is actually a grain of truth in that. Particularly if you view all violent political upheaval as hugely inferior to gradual evolution. Who would really have wished the 'terror phase' of the French or Russian revolutions on their own worst enemies? Revolutions suck!

Edited May 10, 2016 by Mexlark

[ThaiKneeTim]

I do chuckle at the Margaret haters they conveniently forget that Blair ever happened.

Tell me which war was more disastrous the Falklands or the Gulf ?

Blair wasn't called "Thatcher's Apprentice" by the Conservatives for nothing!

The common ground between the Conservatives and New Labour is Neoliberalism:

http://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/apr/15/neoliberalism-ideology-problem-george-monbiot

Growing up in the 60'a I loathed the politicization of the unions and the constant strikes, and they had to be dealt with, but how Thatcher went about it was entirely wrong, and the reopening of the Orgreave Inquiry could expose her for what she was, an inhuman and uncaring tyrant only held back from being as brutal as her friend Pinochet by civil rights laws that her Protege Cameron now wants to abolish.

[jayboy]

I do chuckle at the Margaret haters they conveniently forget that Blair ever happened.

Tell me which war was more disastrous the Falklands or the Gulf ?

Blair wasn't called "Thatcher's Apprentice" by the Conservatives for nothing!

The common ground between the Conservatives and New Labour is Neoliberalism:

http://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/apr/15/neoliberalism-ideology-problem-george-monbiot

Growing up in the 60'a I loathed the politicization of the unions and the constant strikes, and they had to be dealt with, but how Thatcher went about it was entirely wrong, and the reopening of the Orgreave Inquiry could expose her for what she was, an inhuman and uncaring tyrant only held back from being as brutal as her friend Pinochet by civil rights laws that her Protege Cameron now wants to abolish.

Tired of reading Dave Spart style nonsense about Margaret Thatcher? Martin Durkin succinctly provides the truth that makes lefties squirm and curse.

SHUT your eyes and think of Margaret Thatcher (twin-set, hair-do, hand bag, smells nice) and Fidel Castro (combat fatigues, bushy beard, revolver, smells of backy). Which one is the firebrand working-class revolutionary? The answer, of course, is Mrs Thatcher. The vile tyrannt Castro enslaved and impoverished the lower orders in Cuba. Thatcher enriched and liberated them in Britain.

The reason the Left hates Thatcher so much is that she stole the working class from them. And she was able to do this because she understood and shared their aspirations.

Behind the bluster about her death this week are two very different visions of the working class. According to the Left, the proles are oppressed, and the source of that oppression is economic freedom. The Left wants the working class living in state housing, travelling on state transport, working in state-controlled jobs, receiving a state education. The Left fights not to change, but to preserve working practices and “working class communities”, as it offensively calls them.

Mrs Thatcher had a sneaking suspicion that people wanted to own their own home, perhaps in a leafy suburb rather than a council estate. She had the idea that “working class” people wanted the things she wanted – to leave money to their children, to own a few shares, maybe start a little company, go on foreign holidays, own a car – maybe even two cars! She was right. They did want this, which is why ordinary working people voted for her in huge numbers.

The shop keepers and builders and taxi drivers of Basildon (formerly Labour) thought she was God’s gift. Mrs Thatcher saw voluntary profitable economic exchange as an essential and vital part of a truly human existence. Her commitment to economic freedom was moral and inspired by a (Christian) love of and confidence in other people.

The “market” was not a wicked thing. It was lively and sociable, she said. It brought spices and coffee and bananas into the shops. In her day, it brought Fred Astaire to the local cinema. And most ordinary Britons had the good sense to agree (unlike the Left, our “intelligentsia” and the Tory old guard).

To the horror of the Left, Margaret Thatcher re-defined the class struggle. The socialists argued that “the workers” were being ripped off by “the bosses”. But when workers looked at their wages and saw almost half had gone, they knew it wasn’t the bosses who had taken it. It was the state. “Socialism” was reduced to fleecing hard-working people in the private sector to keep the middle class public sector gravy train rolling.

The new class struggle, as defined by the revolutionary Thatcher, was between Tax Producers (in the productive economy) and Tax Consumers (in the parasitic public sector). The regions that voted Labour were dominated by public sector workers and benefit recipients (they wanted to keep the tap on). The regions that voted for Thatcher were populated by the suckers who footed the bill (and rather resented it).

[ThaiKneeTim]

I do chuckle at the Margaret haters they conveniently forget that Blair ever happened.

Tell me which war was more disastrous the Falklands or the Gulf ?

Blair wasn't called "Thatcher's Apprentice" by the Conservatives for nothing!

The common ground between the Conservatives and New Labour is Neoliberalism:

http://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/apr/15/neoliberalism-ideology-problem-george-monbiot

Growing up in the 60'a I loathed the politicization of the unions and the constant strikes, and they had to be dealt with, but how Thatcher went about it was entirely wrong, and the reopening of the Orgreave Inquiry could expose her for what she was, an inhuman and uncaring tyrant only held back from being as brutal as her friend Pinochet by civil rights laws that her Protege Cameron now wants to abolish.

Tired of reading Dave Spart style nonsense about Margaret Thatcher? Martin Durkin succinctly provides the truth that makes lefties squirm and curse.

SHUT your eyes and think of Margaret Thatcher (twin-set, hair-do, hand bag, smells nice) and Fidel Castro (combat fatigues, bushy beard, revolver, smells of backy). Which one is the firebrand working-class revolutionary? The answer, of course, is Mrs Thatcher. The vile tyrannt Castro enslaved and impoverished the lower orders in Cuba. Thatcher enriched and liberated them in Britain.

The reason the Left hates Thatcher so much is that she stole the working class from them. And she was able to do this because she understood and shared their aspirations.

Behind the bluster about her death this week are two very different visions of the working class. According to the Left, the proles are oppressed, and the source of that oppression is economic freedom. The Left wants the working class living in state housing, travelling on state transport, working in state-controlled jobs, receiving a state education. The Left fights not to change, but to preserve working practices and working class communities, as it offensively calls them.

Mrs Thatcher had a sneaking suspicion that people wanted to own their own home, perhaps in a leafy suburb rather than a council estate. She had the idea that working class people wanted the things she wanted to leave money to their children, to own a few shares, maybe start a little company, go on foreign holidays, own a car maybe even two cars! She was right. They did want this, which is why ordinary working people voted for her in huge numbers.

The shop keepers and builders and taxi drivers of Basildon (formerly Labour) thought she was Gods gift. Mrs Thatcher saw voluntary profitable economic exchange as an essential and vital part of a truly human existence. Her commitment to economic freedom was moral and inspired by a (Christian) love of and confidence in other people.

The market was not a wicked thing. It was lively and sociable, she said. It brought spices and coffee and bananas into the shops. In her day, it brought Fred Astaire to the local cinema. And most ordinary Britons had the good sense to agree (unlike the Left, our intelligentsia and the Tory old guard).

To the horror of the Left, Margaret Thatcher re-defined the class struggle. The socialists argued that the workers were being ripped off by the bosses. But when workers looked at their wages and saw almost half had gone, they knew it wasnt the bosses who had taken it. It was the state. Socialism was reduced to fleecing hard-working people in the private sector to keep the middle class public sector gravy train rolling.

The new class struggle, as defined by the revolutionary Thatcher, was between Tax Producers (in the productive economy) and Tax Consumers (in the parasitic public sector). The regions that voted Labour were dominated by public sector workers and benefit recipients (they wanted to keep the tap on). The regions that voted for Thatcher were populated by the suckers who footed the bill (and rather resented it).

When I got the right to vote in 1974 I was a Conservative voter, so I was partly responsible for Thatcher coming to power. I don't despise her, I don't begrudge anyone making it good in life, what I have learned in all my years in the planet is that obscene wealth isn't enough for the 1%, they want more, and if it means taking £30 a week from disabled people then they do so without an ounce of empathy.

The big problem isn't the personalities, it's the Neoliberal ideology that has spread its tentacles beyond Thatcherism and into New Labour to the extent that whichever of the two parties in contention take office we, the electorate, will pay for it through austerity measures that we are assured is necessary.

I'm not a rampant leftie, I was only converted to socialism by Tony Blair, and Cameron isn't doing an awful lot to win my core back.

Much has been made of the "scroungers" but there have been more fraudulent expenses claims by MP's than can be matched by fraudulent benefits claimants. Fraudulent benefits claims run into millions, meanwhile tax evasion runs into BILLIONS, so which set of cheats has the greatest government resources aimed at it, yes it's the peanut thieves!

[billd766]

I wonder how many posters here would revile me if I said that I would be glad if their wives died, and how many of them would be the same posters that were glad that Margaret Thatcher died?

[emilymat]

I wonder how many posters here would revile me if I said that I would be glad if their wives died, and how many of them would be the same posters that were glad that Margaret Thatcher died?

Look, let's be clear about a couple of things. I've always been a labour supporter - but even that is coming into doubt now in my mind.

I certainly do not share the view that Mrs Thacher was the 'saviour' of the country - like many, I lived through that period of divisive politics. "You're either with us or against us" to quote the philosophy of the time that she engineered.

But, I'm not 'applauding' her death. She died of old age and she had dementia, so maybe a blessing in disguise.

Had she been assassinated or killed in an accident, then I might share your observations that it would be both crass, insensitive and wrong to gloat over that. However, because she's dead, it does not make her a Joan of Arc.

[billd766]

I wonder how many posters here would revile me if I said that I would be glad if their wives died, and how many of them would be the same posters that were glad that Margaret Thatcher died?

Look, let's be clear about a couple of things. I've always been a labour supporter - but even that is coming into doubt now in my mind.

I certainly do not share the view that Mrs Thacher was the 'saviour' of the country - like many, I lived through that period of divisive politics. "You're either with us or against us" to quote the philosophy of the time that she engineered.

But, I'm not 'applauding' her death. She died of old age and she had dementia, so maybe a blessing in disguise.

Had she been assassinated or killed in an accident, then I might share your observations that it would be both crass, insensitive and wrong to gloat over that. However, because she's dead, it does not make her a Joan of Arc.

I didn't say that it did but the thread seems to have so much hatred for her when she was doing a job for some 60 million people the best way that she could.

I can remember the British Leyland car company but can you remember "Red Robbo" who was involved in the death of it?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Derek_Robinson_%28trade_unionist%29

http://www.grahamstevenson.me.uk/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1021:robinson-derek-&catid=18:r&Itemid=126

http://www.austinmaxiclub.org/theMaxi/history/redrobbo.htm

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/693309.stm

[billd766]

How about the coal industry?

http://www.economicshelp.org/blog/6498/uncategorized/the-decline-of-the-uk-coal-industry/

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2013/apr/11/slow-death-coal-industry

http://www.oxera.com/Latest-Thinking/Agenda/2014/King-Coal-dethroned-the-decline-and-fall-of-the-Br.aspx

http://eandt.theiet.org/magazine/2014/04/the-strike.cfm

http://www.cardiff.ac.uk/socsi/resources/The%20decline%20of%20king%20coal%20-%201.pdf

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/551544.stm

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/2131197.stm

Yet people still blame Margaret Thatcher for the decline of the the British coal industry.

[Mexlark]

Self-proclaimed Thatcher lovers are a strange bunch. Their admiration even went so far as stabbing her in the back - a piece of treachery that makes a few people turning their back on the funeral procession look completely insignificant. As one Tory MP recently commented, the Nasty Party has basically been at civil war with itself since they ditched her. It is the old public school ethic to stick together like shit to the head prefect's blanket, but it can never quite cover up the fact that a lot of Tories hate each other's guts. Boris Johnson and his Brexiteers, and the UKIP deserters being just two cases in point. I shall also never forget my then local Tory MP looking completely forlorn and alone on the election stump. So much so that I really did wonder why such an obviously pleasant and tolerant man had no obvious friends to help him with the campaign. As a comparative wet, he had run right up against the local mafia & bigot brigade. Soon after that he stopped taking the Tory whip and is now a Labour peer. But I suppose he must still have had some thoughts that he could be of assistance to that stupid Thatcher-loving pillock, Tony Blair - honorary Tory Party member. And having seen my local Tory MP in action on last years stump, the Nasty Party is not exactly blessed with any decent work ethic either. Even local Tory councillors have accused him of betraying them, and have nicknamed him Little Stranger.

So the usual attempts by Nasty Party sychophants here to play the humiliation game on their demonised enemies are just a complete waste of time, because it is all too obvious that this is how they always conduct themselves - even with their supposed friends.

[Craig krup]

Self-proclaimed Thatcher lovers are a strange bunch. Their admiration even went so far as stabbing her in the back - a piece of treachery that makes a few people turning their back on the funeral procession look completely insignificant. As one Tory MP recently commented, the Nasty Party has basically been at civil war with itself since they ditched her. It is the old public school ethic to stick together like shit to the head prefect's blanket, but it can never quite cover up the fact that a lot of Tories hate each other's guts. Boris Johnson and his Brexiteers, and the UKIP deserters being just two cases in point. I shall also never forget my then local Tory MP looking completely forlorn and alone on the election stump. So much so that I really did wonder why such an obviously pleasant and tolerant man had no obvious friends to help him with the campaign. As a comparative wet, he had run right up against the local mafia & bigot brigade. Soon after that he stopped taking the Tory whip and is now a Labour peer. But I suppose he must still have had some thoughts that he could be of assistance to that stupid Thatcher-loving pillock, Tony Blair - honorary Tory Party member. And having seen my local Tory MP in action on last years stump, the Nasty Party is not exactly blessed with any decent work ethic either. Even local Tory councillors have accused him of betraying them, and have nicknamed him Little Stranger.

So the usual attempts by Nasty Party sychophants here to play the humiliation game on their demonised enemies are just a complete waste of time, because it is all too obvious that this is how they always conduct themselves - even with their supposed friends.

So - 1) the Labour Party isn't a seething hotbed of division and resentment, and 2) ditching Thatcher in order to win in 1992 (against all odds and with an incredible vote total) was unwise, while holding on to Brown 2008-2010 (for want of the resolve to do something about it; James Purnell excepted) was a good idea?

[Mexlark]

Self-proclaimed Thatcher lovers are a strange bunch. Their admiration even went so far as stabbing her in the back - a piece of treachery that makes a few people turning their back on the funeral procession look completely insignificant. As one Tory MP recently commented, the Nasty Party has basically been at civil war with itself since they ditched her. It is the old public school ethic to stick together like shit to the head prefect's blanket, but it can never quite cover up the fact that a lot of Tories hate each other's guts. Boris Johnson and his Brexiteers, and the UKIP deserters being just two cases in point. I shall also never forget my then local Tory MP looking completely forlorn and alone on the election stump. So much so that I really did wonder why such an obviously pleasant and tolerant man had no obvious friends to help him with the campaign. As a comparative wet, he had run right up against the local mafia & bigot brigade. Soon after that he stopped taking the Tory whip and is now a Labour peer. But I suppose he must still have had some thoughts that he could be of assistance to that stupid Thatcher-loving pillock, Tony Blair - honorary Tory Party member. And having seen my local Tory MP in action on last years stump, the Nasty Party is not exactly blessed with any decent work ethic either. Even local Tory councillors have accused him of betraying them, and have nicknamed him Little Stranger.

So the usual attempts by Nasty Party sychophants here to play the humiliation game on their demonised enemies are just a complete waste of time, because it is all too obvious that this is how they always conduct themselves - even with their supposed friends.

So - 1) the Labour Party isn't a seething hotbed of division and resentment, and 2) ditching Thatcher in order to win in 1992 (against all odds and with an incredible vote total) was unwise, while holding on to Brown 2008-2010 (for want of the resolve to do something about it; James Purnell excepted) was a good idea?

Agreed, but I suggest you tackle that issue with someone who has at some point in their life voted Labour.

[emilymat]

I wonder how many posters here would revile me if I said that I would be glad if their wives died, and how many of them would be the same posters that were glad that Margaret Thatcher died?

Look, let's be clear about a couple of things. I've always been a labour supporter - but even that is coming into doubt now in my mind.

I certainly do not share the view that Mrs Thacher was the 'saviour' of the country - like many, I lived through that period of divisive politics. "You're either with us or against us" to quote the philosophy of the time that she engineered.

But, I'm not 'applauding' her death. She died of old age and she had dementia, so maybe a blessing in disguise.

Had she been assassinated or killed in an accident, then I might share your observations that it would be both crass, insensitive and wrong to gloat over that. However, because she's dead, it does not make her a Joan of Arc.

I didn't say that it did but the thread seems to have so much hatred for her when she was doing a job for some 60 million people the best way that she could.

I can remember the British Leyland car company but can you remember "Red Robbo" who was involved in the death of it?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Derek_Robinson_%28trade_unionist%29

http://www.grahamstevenson.me.uk/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1021:robinson-derek-&catid=18:r&Itemid=126

http://www.austinmaxiclub.org/theMaxi/history/redrobbo.htm

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/693309.stm

I confess, I haven't read the links. In a sense I don't need to.

I lived near Longbridge and worked on the production line at Rover for a year. I would accept the unions were 'over the top' at times.

However, it was the design of Leyland cars that turned people away and towards the Jap cars that were beginning to enter the country. I remember my neighbour buying a Datsun, which had air-con, power steering, tinted windows and automatic transmission. It was cheaper than the dreaded Allegro. Every Mini produced lost money. The point is, you can't blame the workers for the shoddy design. My mate had a Leyland Marina and he had to put a paving slab in the boot in the winter so the wheels would grip! I remember having a BL Maxi - which had no power steering and was like a lorry to drive.

This was when the pound was fairly strong against the yen. Your ordinary punter did not subscribe to the 'buy British' syndrome. It happened in the motorcyle industry as well.

[Craig krup]

I confess, I haven't read the links. In a sense I don't need to.

I lived near Longbridge and worked on the production line at Rover for a year. I would accept the unions were 'over the top' at times.

However, it was the design of Leyland cars that turned people away and towards the Jap cars that were beginning to enter the country. I remember my neighbour buying a Datsun, which had air-con, power steering, tinted windows and automatic transmission. It was cheaper than the dreaded Allegro. Every Mini produced lost money. The point is, you can't blame the workers for the shoddy design. My mate had a Leyland Marina and he had to put a paving slab in the boot in the winter so the wheels would grip! I remember having a BL Maxi - which had no power steering and was like a lorry to drive.

This was when the pound was fairly strong against the yen. Your ordinary punter did not subscribe to the 'buy British' syndrome. It happened in the motorcyle industry as well.

The terrible thing about the car industry is that once Tory labour laws ended the trade unions' actions, and once the subsidies stopped (ending the British manufacturers) it suddenly became possible for British workers to have decent jobs and make fantastic world class cars. Putting up with all the c**p, and subsidising it, was helping nobody. The Micra and Primera out of Sunderland (IIRC) won European Car of the Year. Trident now makes world class bikes, precisely because we don't have mad laws that facilitate the takeover of enterprises by tubes like Red Robbo and Bob Crow, and we don't subsidise people who need to change or go bust.

Thatcher (and Heyek) were right.

[plachon]

Unfortunately it would be a further 34 years before she was dead.

On a related topic - Why is it that the ignorant people from the looney left are so .................. inhuman? Do you remember when they booed as Maggies coffin went past? Have you ever heard any right wing supporters being so inhumane - never.

IMO part of the greenie/leftie mental problems means they don't understand how to 'play with others'. By that I mean they play 'the man' and not 'the ball' - they just cannot see the forest for the trees. I guess it would be sad to live one's life with a brain that works that way, but the reality is that most of them don't ever realise how screwed up they are until they get old. In the end they usually fade away from life with a bitter and twisted attitude to life. Sad. Such a waste of a life. Not all - but many - probably this one too.

Clearly someone is a tad biased here and has a myopic view of his hero (or "heroine", depending on your view on Maggie's gender). Even a casual understanding of Thatcher's biography would allow one to appreciate that "humanity" wasn't her strong suite, and "Thatcher the milk snatcher" was more than a mere throwaway political insult for someone who seemed to delight in destroying the heart of communities, from coal mining towns to Liverpool itself.

Even more ironic is the fact that she herself died a bitter, twisted old lady, whose delusions multiplied towards the end of her life. Must have been sad for those around her, but not as sad as her legacy in Britain. Sinead O'Connor had it about right in "Black Boys on Mopeds", as did Elvis Costello with "Tramp the Dirt Down".

Vile woman.

[jayboy]

Unfortunately it would be a further 34 years before she was dead.

On a related topic - Why is it that the ignorant people from the looney left are so .................. inhuman? Do you remember when they booed as Maggies coffin went past? Have you ever heard any right wing supporters being so inhumane - never.

IMO part of the greenie/leftie mental problems means they don't understand how to 'play with others'. By that I mean they play 'the man' and not 'the ball' - they just cannot see the forest for the trees. I guess it would be sad to live one's life with a brain that works that way, but the reality is that most of them don't ever realise how screwed up they are until they get old. In the end they usually fade away from life with a bitter and twisted attitude to life. Sad. Such a waste of a life. Not all - but many - probably this one too.

Clearly someone is a tad biased here and has a myopic view of his hero (or "heroine", depending on your view on Maggie's gender). Even a casual understanding of Thatcher's biography would allow one to appreciate that "humanity" wasn't her strong suite, and "Thatcher the milk snatcher" was more than a mere throwaway political insult for someone who seemed to delight in destroying the heart of communities, from coal mining towns to Liverpool itself.

Even more ironic is the fact that she herself died a bitter, twisted old lady, whose delusions multiplied towards the end of her life. Must have been sad for those around her, but not as sad as her legacy in Britain. Sinead O'Connor had it about right in "Black Boys on Mopeds", as did Elvis Costello with "Tramp the Dirt Down".

Vile woman.

You seem not to be aware this post reveals a great deal about yourself and virtually nothing about Mrs Thatcher.You toss around adjectives like 'biased" and "myopic" and purport to have an "understanding" of her biography.Yet you just regurgitate agitprop cartoon like triteness.People like you never do any real research and certainly never read deeply.If you showed any glimmering of the subject's complexity or how appalling the state of Britain was before she took power, one could perhaps give your views some respect.But on present evidence it's just ignorant and unpleasant drivel (she suffered from vascular dementia in old age)

Edited May 11, 2016 by jayboy

[BB24]

Unfortunately it would be a further 34 years before she was dead.

On a related topic - Why is it that the ignorant people from the looney left are so .................. inhuman? Do you remember when they booed as Maggies coffin went past? Have you ever heard any right wing supporters being so inhumane - never.

IMO part of the greenie/leftie mental problems means they don't understand how to 'play with others'. By that I mean they play 'the man' and not 'the ball' - they just cannot see the forest for the trees. I guess it would be sad to live one's life with a brain that works that way, but the reality is that most of them don't ever realise how screwed up they are until they get old. In the end they usually fade away from life with a bitter and twisted attitude to life. Sad. Such a waste of a life. Not all - but many - probably this one too.

Clearly someone is a tad biased here and has a myopic view of his hero (or "heroine", depending on your view on Maggie's gender). Even a casual understanding of Thatcher's biography would allow one to appreciate that "humanity" wasn't her strong suite, and "Thatcher the milk snatcher" was more than a mere throwaway political insult for someone who seemed to delight in destroying the heart of communities, from coal mining towns to Liverpool itself.

Even more ironic is the fact that she herself died a bitter, twisted old lady, whose delusions multiplied towards the end of her life. Must have been sad for those around her, but not as sad as her legacy in Britain. Sinead O'Connor had it about right in "Black Boys on Mopeds", as did Elvis Costello with "Tramp the Dirt Down".

Vile woman.

You seem not to be aware this post reveals a great deal about yourself and virtually nothing about Mrs Thatcher.You toss around adjectives like 'biased" and "myopic" and purport to have an "understanding" of her biography.Yet you just regurgitate agitprop cartoon like triteness.People like you never do any real research and certainly never read deeply.If you showed any glimmering of the subject's complexity or how appalling the state of Britain was before she took power, one could perhaps give your views some respect.But on present evidence it's just ignorant and unpleasant drivel (she suffered from vascular dementia in old age)

I wasn't going to bother responding to the ignorance and 'inhumanity' from yet another one of those looney lefties - but I will respond and say to jayboy: 'Well said Sir'.

How could any normal human being delight in the suffering of another from dementia and death - but I think I answered that question - they aint normal.

Whilst I disagree with most things said by Labor and Green politicians and their supporters, I would never delight in their suffering and death.

Gough Whitlam was a Labor politician who passed away recently - his policies were not liked by us of the right (downright disliked in fact) - but the thought of denegrating him or his family just never occurred to me.

[Mexlark]

I confess, I haven't read the links. In a sense I don't need to.

I lived near Longbridge and worked on the production line at Rover for a year. I would accept the unions were 'over the top' at times.

However, it was the design of Leyland cars that turned people away and towards the Jap cars that were beginning to enter the country. I remember my neighbour buying a Datsun, which had air-con, power steering, tinted windows and automatic transmission. It was cheaper than the dreaded Allegro. Every Mini produced lost money. The point is, you can't blame the workers for the shoddy design. My mate had a Leyland Marina and he had to put a paving slab in the boot in the winter so the wheels would grip! I remember having a BL Maxi - which had no power steering and was like a lorry to drive.

This was when the pound was fairly strong against the yen. Your ordinary punter did not subscribe to the 'buy British' syndrome. It happened in the motorcyle industry as well.

The terrible thing about the car industry is that once Tory labour laws ended the trade unions' actions, and once the subsidies stopped (ending the British manufacturers) it suddenly became possible for British workers to have decent jobs and make fantastic world class cars. Putting up with all the c**p, and subsidising it, was helping nobody. The Micra and Primera out of Sunderland (IIRC) won European Car of the Year. Trident now makes world class bikes, precisely because we don't have mad laws that facilitate the takeover of enterprises by tubes like Red Robbo and Bob Crow, and we don't subsidise people who need to change or go bust.

Thatcher (and Heyek) were right.

Ah, an apologist for the Mont Pelerin conspirators. Wonder how long it will be before someone remembers that both he and Thatcher both thought it was perfectly OK to play footsy with Gen. Pinochet.

Japanese car manufacturers got it right. and all credit to them.

The neo-liberal regime of the UK has now spent several decades decimating the industrial base of the country, with the crazy notion that we can all scratch a living on services alone. (It rendered the CBI completely useless and toothless in the process.) Meanwhile the really serious business of hard cash extraction has actually been going on in the money-shuffling industry. Strange how it has lead to immense wealth for a few, while still needing to be bailed out by the taxpayer - those ordinary people who pay tax, that is. The only things that ever really trickled down were the bullshit and austerity.

Edited May 11, 2016 by Mexlark

[Craig krup]

Vile woman.

Vile woman? Sinead you're talking about? By 2008, given the choice and under compulsion, you'd have shagged the Thatch before you went anywhere near the winner of the "Once cute bird who threw most away" contest. Top tip - don't rely on pop singers for your political theory and economics. Billy Bragg's got a huge house. All musicians defend their copyright. They're all for right-wing notions about property once they have some property.

On the subject of state subsidy, the free market gave you Elvis Costello. State planning and intervention gave you Johnny Hallyday.

Edited May 11, 2016 by Craig krup

[Mexlark]

We can rudely comment on our competitor's rudeness or we can politely avoid talking about their famed politeness.

How do we differ from Nigeria? Fanatically corrupt perhaps?

[Boon Mee]

Best PM the UK has had since Churchill.

Happy Lady Thatcher Day!

[Mexlark]

Best PM the UK has had since Churchill.

Happy Lady Thatcher Day!

“Liberals claim to want to give a hearing to other views, but then are shocked and offended to discover that there are other views.”

Probably, but only since. There were a lot more before than after.

Politics is a bit like the Premier League, these days. You only get what you pay for. King Power got Leicester City. Good value investment for them, no doubt. But how long will it last before they sell out?

Are there any Liberals left? Liberalism is dead. There are now only Neo-Liberals. Virtually everyone in global politics already got with the message. And the rest are of no great consequence anyway. It is very imaginative (McCarthy-style) to label anyone who hasn't quite got the message as some sort of Communist - another extinct political grouping. So I guess what you really mean is that anyone who hasn't bought the Neo-Liberal propaganda lock, stock & smoking barrel is shocked and offended. Your motto seems to me to be the sort of sloganising one might read off a Fox News teleprompter - because when people have lived through more than three decades of laissez-faire, free-market politics they are extremely unlikely to be shocked by the status quo any longer. More than a few of them might still be slightly offended, however - because most certainly things have only really got better for a very small global minority during those decades.

My impression is that you don't really believe this sort of stuff yourself. You just need to go through the usual justificatory motions. Just another insignificant view from me, of course. I draw some comfort from knowing you won't really be shocked and offended, because Neo-Liberals are raised to avoid such worthless emotions. But I suppose you might still wish to engage in some mild political theatrics to amuse the masses. No problem! It will surely be entertaining.

Edited May 13, 2016 by Mexlark

[evadgib]

Maggie remains the greatest PM of my lifetime.

[thai3]

The only real mistake she made was in closing Grammar School down, closing pits down was not.

[Boon Mee]

Maggie remains the greatest PM of my lifetime.

Indeed. Mine as well. Her and Ronald Maximus made a great team!

[emilymat]

Maggie remains the greatest PM of my lifetime.

Come on now, you're forgetting Sir Alex Douglas Hume.

Blimey, from this thread, I'm beginning to believe there is actually a Margaret Thatcher Day and my calendar has missed it. !

[Mexlark]

Probably not Ted Heath. He's mentioned in the next breath from folks like Jimmy Saville, Rolf Harris and Cliff Richard these days. I have my doubts (except in the two former), but these accusations never quite go away.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/ted-heath-child-sex-abuse-investigation-to-continue-after-ipcc-probe-into-misconduct-finds-no-a7026211.html

Emily, you can always scribble over MT Day on your calendar. My response to the funeral was to go nowhere near it. Nothing worse than a tory mob in full bay for serf blood!

Maggie remains the greatest PM of my lifetime.

Come on now, you're forgetting Sir Alex Douglas Hume.

Blimey, from this thread, I'm beginning to believe there is actually a Margaret Thatcher Day and my calendar has missed it. !

Edited May 16, 2016 by Mexlark

[Mexlark]

The only real mistake she made was in closing Grammar School down, closing pits down was not.

Think of academies and open cast mines as their modern successors.

[Oxx]

The only real mistake she made was in closing Grammar School down, closing pits down was not.

Think of academies and open cast mines as their modern successors.

For me, this is the modern successor:

http://games.usvsth3m.com/super-tory-boy/

[rwdrwdrwd]