April 10, 201312 yr Whether or not her policies helped the working-class in the long-term is a different issue. But, in the short term, it was never in doubt that her policies were going to result in a sharp increase in unemployment for atleast several years, and so I don't see how it could be described as anything other than dishonest to base a whole election campaign around a promise to do the exact opposite. They would later say that short-term unemployment was a "price worth paying" for the supposed long-term benefits (which I would argue against), but she certainly wasn't upfront about it before she started it. So true and exactly why i hope history doesnt repeat itself in this generation with a disasterous first 3 years for Cameron but the economy coming naturally back by 2015 and him winning a majority in 2 years time.
April 10, 201312 yr "Her legacy is of public division, private selfishness and a cult of greed, which together shackle far more of the human spirit than they ever set free" Amazing quote imo Agreed. Why exactly has Parliament been recalled today? What a total waste of money.
April 10, 201312 yr There's a deep irony of her having a funeral paid for by the taxpayer, although if I think of it as a way of spiting her I can almost endure the idea of us shelling £10 million for it.
April 10, 201312 yr So true and exactly why i hope history doesnt repeat itself in this generation with a disasterous first 3 years for Cameron but the economy coming naturally back by 2015 and him winning a majority in 2 years time. I'm fairly confident on the Tories getting a majority in 2015. I'd love to be proved wrong.
April 10, 201312 yr If Scotland wins Independence they probably will as Labour will lose a significant number of seats compared to the Conservatives one. Otherwise I can see it being a hung parliament again.
April 10, 201312 yr If Scotland wins Independence they probably will as Labour will lose a significant number of seats compared to the Conservatives one. Otherwise I can see it being a hung parliament again. Oh yeh, if Scotland decides to go it alone the balance will almost certainly swing towards the conservatives. PLEASE DON'T LEAVE US. :(
April 10, 201312 yr The media are pissing me off so much at the moment. No one cared after the first 24 hours!
April 10, 201312 yr http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2013/ap...rgaret-thatcher A really great article by Russell Brand, he raises some really good points.
April 10, 201312 yr Agreed. Why exactly has Parliament been recalled today? What a total waste of money. Agreed. There's no reason why they coulldn't have waited until Monday when Parliament is due to return.
April 10, 201312 yr If Scotland wins Independence they probably will as Labour will lose a significant number of seats compared to the Conservatives one. Otherwise I can see it being a hung parliament again. Scotland will still be part of the UK at the next election regardless of the referendum result. I still think the likeliest result of that election will be a hung parliament. However, we could potentially see a significant change if the Scottish MPs leave part way through the parliamentary term.
April 10, 201312 yr The media are pissing me off so much at the moment. No one cared after the first 24 hours! WHAT? Stop presuming to speak for an entire nation. Fine if you don't care, nobody's forcing you to keep coming into this thread to talk about her (the clue really is in the title)
April 10, 201312 yr http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2013/ap...rgaret-thatcher A really great article by Russell Brand, he raises some really good points. An absolutely fantastic article. Everybody should read this.
April 10, 201312 yr If Scotland wins Independence they probably will as Labour will lose a significant number of seats compared to the Conservatives one. Otherwise I can see it being a hung parliament again. Oh yeh, if Scotland decides to go it alone the balance will almost certainly swing towards the conservatives. PLEASE DON'T LEAVE US. :( Even without Scotland, Labour would've still got landslide wins in 1997 and 2001, and would've been comfortably the biggest party in 2005. Scotland would make it harder for them to win, but not impossible by any means :lol:
April 10, 201312 yr The history of the council house sales policy is interesting. It first appeared as a manifesto commitment at the 1959 general election. That is, it was in Labour's 1959 manifesto. However, they didn't win and by the time of the next election in 1964 (which they did win) the council house policy had been dropped. There was a policy on allowing long-term tenants in private rented accommodation to buy their home. They also promised to allow councils to buy homes from landlords who refused to modernise them, do them up themselves and sell them on. It resurfaced in 1975 when Ted Heath adopted it although it was initially opposed by his then environment spokesperson, one M Thatcher.
April 10, 201312 yr Author Complaints about the BBC's coverage of Thatcher's Death: Biased in favour: 268 Biased against: 227 Well played BBC. Well played.
April 10, 201312 yr Even without Scotland, Labour would've still got landslide wins in 1997 and 2001, and would've been comfortably the biggest party in 2005. Scotland would make it harder for them to win, but not impossible by any means :lol: I heard a stat that there's no election that Labour has won that it would have lost without Scotland. Obviously in recent times that's because the party is seemingly averse to small majorities, but that wasn't the case before '79 and demonstrates how much Thatcher rendered the Tories unelectable in most of Scotland.
April 11, 201312 yr I just think she was a strong woman, who undoubtedly got a bit too big for her boots. She did a lot of good for this country. I think it's subjective to say selling X,X and Z to this country etc. was a bad move. Now yes, but I think it probably needed to be done. It's the same with breaking the Trade Unions. They were far too powerful, they did need to be stopped. But the way she went about it was cold and heartless. She realised we needed to move on with the world, and Labour have realised the world has changed aswell thankfully. You can see why people love her and people hate her. She is a truly marmite character. I wonder if Britain will ever see another. I highly doubt it.
April 11, 201312 yr I wonder if Britain will ever see another. I highly doubt it. This is the really sad thing for me. Regardless of what you make of her politics, she was a woman of conviction. Politicians in the 21st century don't seem to have a clear vision for what this country should be. They just say whatever the f*** they think will win votes, as Nick Clegg demonstrated with the tuition fees. Somebody like that can never make a great leader. I think that's why Thatcher's fans seem to hold her in absolute reverence and even some of her detractors have a degree of begrudging respect for her. Who will be getting so passionate about David Cameron when he carks it decades from now? Or Gordon Brown. Very few people I'd imagine.
April 11, 201312 yr I just think she was a strong woman, who undoubtedly got a bit too big for her boots. She did a lot of good for this country. I think it's subjective to say selling X,X and Z to this country etc. was a bad move. Now yes, but I think it probably needed to be done. It's the same with breaking the Trade Unions. They were far too powerful, they did need to be stopped. But the way she went about it was cold and heartless. She realised we needed to move on with the world, and Labour have realised the world has changed aswell thankfully. You can see why people love her and people hate her. She is a truly marmite character. I wonder if Britain will ever see another. I highly doubt it. Please elaborate on your views of why the trade unions were too strong in 1979? I think they needed reorganised but now works have much less rights and are poorer as a result which is a bad thing - having 30 year mortages doesnt help them though!!
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