Only if you failed to understand the comparison Mr Eve.

As for the sick man of Europe point. What all the posters seem to ignore is that much of that was due to the failure of British industry to embrace new technology and investment in machinery post WW2.

Countries such as Germany because of thh Marshall plan started off with a huge advantage by developing MODERN industry.

Britain was still stuck in the past holding onto a decaying empire and forgetting that political and military power comes from the strength of your economic base. ( the same is true now).

Britain may have been the sick man of Europe but it was as much due to low productivity and lack of investment in both the heavy industries and the newly developing ones that as it was the power of the unions.

The reason the Nottingham scabs didn't want to strike is because their so called invincible pits were safe from closure ,unlike the Yorkshire area and the one I was at.how ironic that only one now remains in scabby notts and there work force have come for jobs at the only one left in Yorkshire,and where I work,nearly 30 yrs now and it still brings anger out of me when people who haven't got a clue think it's right ,because someones jobs safe the others can loose theirs.The 12 months on strike picketing,arrested 3 times fighting for mine and every other miners job were the best times of my life and wouldn't change it for any thing.for all you that chose to take the pieces of silver,once a scab always a scab.

Cry me a river

1. Recent You Gov poll named Lady T as the best of 13 PM's since 1945. Lady Thatcher was named as "great" or "good" by 52% of those polled.
2. In Guardian poll taken since she died 50% said Thatcher's rule was good for Britain 34% said bad. 62% approved council house sales (24% against) 50% approved taking on the trades unions (34% against)
3. Three decades of Mori polls show Lady Thatcher's popularity with voters increasing from 26% in 1979 just before her election victory to 44% in 1982 to 62% in 1983 and in 1987 59% of the population considered her a capable leader. Even on leavin g office after the dreaded poll tax issue her rating was still 39% significantly higher than those of her successors.

Aww diddums.

I wonder what the Climate Change brigade would make out of your insistance to keep the mines open?

Yes our industries did suffer from a lack of investment after the war but the war bankrupted us and much of the failure to embrace new technology was due to the the belligerent union bosses who fought against productivity with tooth and nail. There was little incentive to invest in industries with such terrible strike records. Remember Red Ken and the awful British cars.

Germany indeed had a huge help to rebuild their industries while we were still paying back our war debt to the USA and Canada which took us until 2006 (Just short of 4 billion repaid)

As I have stated successive governments in the 60's and 70's would not take on the reforms necessary until Mrs Thatcher came along.

Is it him?
If so, I've been duped.

No it certainly is not. Just Smokey fumbling around without an argument again.

I remember a documentary on the aftermath of the miners strike a few years after it ended and they interviewed a Notts miner who had lost his job, even after he worked through the strike to help Thatcher close pits, he was in tears saying 'I feel let down by Thatcher, she has stabbed us in the back'. Wow, he never saw it coming, f'kin idiot.

Of course it is, stop being silly.

Has Robinson hacked your account?

I think the reason that so many are talking about her on here is because
a) This is a thread about her
b) Like her or loathe her, negative or positive, she changed the debate
c) She divides opinion more strongly than any other PM, past or present
d) She has just died

Not necessarily. We [icould[/i just be arguing in our [ispare time[/i.

You’ll be saying next that, the decimation of the British mining industry was due to Mrs T having the foresight to reduce this countries carbon emissions .

But at least she went to Gas fired power stations, unfortunately they have now guzzled up all the North Sea Gas & we’re now paying the price – literally.

Yet China & India are building four new coal power plants – every week!

Oh, I forgot, emissions from Britain are far more harmful to the earth than those in the Far East .