Nick Clegg praises Margaret Thatcher

[duckweed]

And I remember when the unemployment figures rocketed her ministers saying that this was an economic necessity. I also remember many of the strikes were wildcat strikes that is non union led strikes. I remember anger and discord and the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer. I remember hospitals with leaking roofs and wards closing due to staff shortages. I remember watching head teacher after head teacher leave due to stress induced health problems. The turn over of staff in schools was horrendous. I remember train accidents due to privatisation of the railways and insufficient funds put into their safety. I remember the deregulation of busses leading to the streets of sheffield coming to a standstill as there was just too many busses on some routes (of course now they have realised they can't make a profit the busses are cutting the timetables and the routes). I'm not sure we had much respect from other countries.

[epiphany]

I know Margaret Thatcher wasn't much loved by the unions but I remember all the strikes, the times when power was cut off, train services were cancelled leaving thousands stranded and the union leaders acted like a bunch of little Caesars, many of them card carrying commies.

 

Whatever's said Thatcher was one of the greatest Prime Ministers the UK ever had. She put the UK once more on the map, transformed it from what was called "the sick man of Europe" into a country that was once more respected world wide and with a dynamic economy

 

It's strange how, although my dad lived through the same era as you, he came out of the 80s feeling even more vehement disdain for the Tories and believes the country is in a far better state today. Perhaps he saw a side you didn't. Perhaps you saw a side he didn't.

 

One thing's for sure, I've never seen someone so middle class hate the Tories so much.

[Harleyman]

It's strange how, although my dad lived through the same era as you, he came out of the 80s feeling even more vehement disdain for the Tories and believes the country is in a far better state today. Perhaps he saw a side you didn't. Perhaps you saw a side he didn't.

 

One thing's for sure, I've never seen someone so middle class hate the Tories so much.

 

The union stewards used to tell the members who were communist to make certain that they attended meetings when union positions were up for election. I remember that quite well. Of course very few members ever bothered to attend the meetings and because of these factors many union leaders were communists and they did have an agenda.... very much so. From the mid 60s on Britains car industry went into rapid decline due to strikes at assembly plants and shoddy workmanship. The ship building industry also largely disappeared and the steel industry followed closely behind. The nationalized railways were rotting at the seams. Rolling stock was old. some of it pre WW2, the trains were dirty and seldom on time. I used to worry a lot whether I would be able to get into work as the two main railway unions NUR and ASLEF played a game of strikers leapfrog. One union would suddenly go on strike and as soon as that was settled the other would call a strike, always in the winter and of course no union would ever agree to a contract after a settlement. They just walked off the job when they felt like it. Ther unions had Britain by the throat, no doubt about that. The rubbish they inflicted on the public at large, coal shortages, electricity cuts and more was bound to lead to someone like Thatcher being elected. The public were outraged and fed up with it all

[Harleyman]

Just heard that British Airways cabin crew have walked off the job. Another example of union bone headedness. Cutting off their nose to spite their face.

There will be no winners only losers. BA staff are paid twice what Virgin Atlantic staff are and I'm sure Richard Branson must be rubbing his hands with glee anticipating the beginning of the end for BA

[happyhippy]

Apparently Nick Clegg thinks that Margaret Thatcher was right in her bringing down the Miners Union. I wondered what your opinion was of this statement and him for saying that?

 

Where has Nick Clegg said this?

[espadrille]

Its strange how there are many threads started like this recently just as there are 7 weeks go to both local and national elections.

[espadrille]

heres what the paper said he said..

 

 

ttp://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/politics/7415708/Nick-Clegg-how-Margaret-Thatcher-inspires-me.html

 

sorry link not working

[duckweed]

The shipyards were not working because there was and still isn't such a demand for ships. My brother was a radio officer at the time and shipping line after shipping line went bust. In fact the one he worked for went bust leaving him and all the crew stranded in a foreign port. They had to find their own way home. If it wasn't for his union he wouldn't have got home before the food ran out. Defence contracts under Thatcher often went abroad so the Shipbuilders weren't getting contracts from our own government. The car industry especially Fords was badly managed. The number of employees with stress related illnesses was high as was the accidents in the workplace. 2 University researchers did a study of working conditions in Ford and found that there were huge problems in communication between management unions and workers, hence the huge number of wildcat unofficial strikes (not union led). Trade Union meetings were very rarely attended by anyone never mind communist agitators. Management was poor because there was little training unlike in Europe and America. A friend who started work in a major glass company found that the top management had failed to get in orders or make sure the orders were completed. He found without drastic action the company was due to fold. He had the terrible task of laying off hardworking skilled men with families because if he didn't the rest of the company would have folded too. He left the company when it was obvious that the management were incompetent. It's easy to blame the workforce for everything, and I'm quite sure there are times when they are being awkward .

[duckweed]

Its strange how there are many threads started like this recently just as there are 7 weeks go to both local and national elections.

I started this thread because I read what Nick Clegg said in a news item. I wanted to find out whether that was what people in South Yorkshire thought now. Whether attitudes had changed and Nick Clegg was simply reflecting what people in Sheffield thought. The timing is purely from Nick Clegg not me. But given the timing I would assume he made these statements because he thought that was a politically good thing to say.

[Tradescanthia]

Just heard that British Airways cabin crew have walked off the job. Another example of union bone headedness. Cutting off their nose to spite their face.

There will be no winners only losers. BA staff are paid twice what Virgin Atlantic staff are and I'm sure Richard Branson must be rubbing his hands with glee anticipating the beginning of the end for BA

 

Stop reading the Sun and Beano and find out some facts, their pay package is put together differently, they are not paid double the oppositions salaries. The others are quite close when bonuses etc. are included.