Socialist Republic of South Yorkshire

[superCol]

What happened. Where did it go wrong?

 

We had it in our grasp, the Socialist Republic of South Yorkshire.

 

At one time, the City of Sheffield bared it's teeth and was about to show the world what could be done if the people of that city were willing to stand up and fight for public services. Buses would be free, it would be safe to walk the streets at night, bricks would not come flying through your window.

 

This is a conurbation of over half a million folk. It is time for all of you to stand up and make your view known.

 

Are you willing to make this city great again. Or are so far up your own backside that you could no give a toss?

 

Think about it, put society before yourself.

 

I make no excuses. A substantial amount of the stuff I read in this forum is selfish. We would all be better off if we chose otherwise. Be political. My father (and maybe yours too) stood up and was counted when the bullets attempted to deny our democracy.

[Tony]

Over 80 years of patriachal Socialism has ruined Sheffield to create what it is today - a city struggling to compete in the world that most people worked out years ago.

 

Thank God that even New Labour has woken up to it - now all they have to do is get rid of the old socialists before the Lib-Dems take it away from them for a long time.

[superCol]

Originally posted by Tony

Over 80 years of patriachal Socialism has ruined Sheffield to create what it is today - a city struggling to compete in the world that most people worked out years ago.

 

Thank God that even New Labour has woken up to it - now all they have to do is get rid of the old socialists before the Lib-Dems take it away from them for a long time.

 

Tony. not sure where you get the 80 years bit from. My undestanding of socialism goes back further. I disagree with your assertation that 'patriachal Socialism has ruined Sheffield'. If it was not for their foresight, the good working folk of Sheffield would be in an even worse position.

 

Sheffield was a very prosporous city until the 80's. It was then that the Thatcher moneterist policies destroyed manufacturing industry. Even the bloke that sold her the idea now admits it was garbage.

 

By the way, god has nothing to do with it. It's people that can make a difference.

[superCol]

Imagine it. You could get a bus from Stannington, Wincobank, Eccleshall or wherever you fancied for FREE. This was the idea.

 

It would cut the number of cars on the road. Therefore the buses would move faster and be more reliable. There would be more of them. Everybody would get to their destination faster with much less hassle. This was the 1970's dream. Ruined by the 'free market' nutters.

 

At least the local authority at that time thought about the people not some right wing ideology.

[Tony]

Well here cometh a basic economics lesson

 

Nothing is 'free'. Those cheap bus rides were paid for through extortionate taxes and rates. There was a time when the high business rates for shops in Sheffield were only bettered by Oxford Street in London.

 

... THAT'S why Sheffield has no quality retail core. ...THAT'S why it has no business sector like Leeds, Nottingham, Manchester, all of whom had similar sized manufaturing centres that suffered the same fate as Sheffields. Other cities abandoned such policies long ago, in fact Liverpool was the only one to even entertain them - and look what a mess it made of there too.

 

Union power effectively killed nationalised industry, then went on to cripple private industry.

 

Eastern economies worked out how to do things better and faster and cheaper and further undermined UK manufacturing as a whole. That process continues today and sets new challenges with European expansion and Chinese modernisation.

 

Come on Supercol, climb off that student level socialism high horse and recognise that Thatcher was in power at a time when the changes were happening world-wide. Union power was killing the world economy and new challenges HAD to be met. The same things happened in the UK, the USA, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, etc, etc. Thatcher didn't create the devastated world economy all by herself, she reacted to it on the only ways possible.

 

... THAT'S why the UK is richer. cleaner, healthier, more educated and yes... more equal, than it has ever been in it's history.

 

Please recognise too that even David Blunkett, Clive Betts, and nationally / internationally Neil Kinnock saw that the old ways of Labour had to end.

 

The only people who believe in patriachal socialism (aka mild but effective communism) are a few Old Labourites and Arthur Scargill (who almost single handedly killed the industry he claimed to protect).

 

Things move on, and free bus rides for the 'Twearlies' are thankfully a thing of the past.

[Ned Ludd]

Originally posted by Tony

... THAT'S why the UK is richer. cleaner, healthier, more educated and yes... more equal, than it has ever been in it's history.

 

Richer, yes. Cleaner, yes (no heavy industry and Mrs T wielded the knife with a greater zeal than the economics dictated), more educated?? not sure.

More equal? a definate NO! In terms of health, income, life expectancy the gap continues to widen between richest and poorest

It's not a North/South divide but one between different income groups.

[Tony]

I'm afraid that we certainly are all more equal, both legally and financially.

 

Poverty is almost non-existant in this country, as it is seemingly measured by the number of TV sets and holidays that people have.

 

No doubt a kind Forum member will be able to furnish us with the actual figure that determines poverty, but isn't it something like £15,000 pa household income?

 

Think back 20 years.

[Bushbaby]

Isn't Sheffield still at war with Tierra del Fuego, or somewhere like that, because of the Socialists?

[Phanerothyme]

Dunno about that but Berwick-Upon-Tweed was at war with Russia for a very long time

[tiffy]

You can't go back. You can only go forward and of course that includes change but your dreams and commitment can remain the same.