What about people who buy their cigs from Dodgy Keith down t'pub, who's brother works away a lot and brings them home duty free from the continent?

To continue the arguement on gastric band surgery on the NHS, surely fat people pay their taxes, too, on the food they buy and the pertrol they use to drive around rather than walk to the shops?


I must add that Wires71 is getting more condescending (sp?) with each passing politcally fuelled thread. Typical Tory.

lock this thread totally pointless and naff all to do with our great game

The truth is finally out.....

Just like to add a quick apology to Wires 71, but I just couldn't resist...

Wires71 I know you're a strong Thatcherite, and I have a lot of admiration for Maggie's personal convictions and integrity.

However I think sometimes she is overglamourised even by her own supporters.

When she came in in 1979 she had basically three aims, to reverse Britains economic decline (sick man of Europe?), create a free market system based on individual enterprise rather than reliance on the state, and to restore the authority of the state particularly with the unions. Only really on the third of those did she deliver.

The economy went bust-boom-bust under Thatcher, the years 83-88 were decent, but the rest were periods of economic hardship. Whilst she can't be blamed for the situation in 1979, there's no avoiding responsibility for what happened in 1989-90. That one hit more people harder because when mortgage rates started to skyrocket and houseprices collapsed, the ones who felt the brunt of it were the ones who had 'benefited' from the right to buy scheme a few years earlier.

The economic growth was helped by North Sea Oil revenues, but the manufacturing industry collapsed, and most of the economic improvement was felt by a small section of the economy (service economy) and a small geographical part of the country (south east). Even in the 'good years' the north of England and Scotland, Wales didn't really share in the success. By the time Thatcher left a lot of our manufacturing industry was overseas owned.

The welfare bill also went up which is not what Thatcher would have wanted at all, she was trying to reduce the burden of government spending but as the industries collapsed the unemployment rate shot up and the people losing their jobs were not people who could easily find work elsewhere, so we got saddled with long term unemployed and people who were no longer participating in the economy as consumers. The rest of the economy had to shell out to support this, which is why most of the tax cuts were for people in high tax brackets - the average hard working person didn't see much benefit.

I think sometimes debate on Thatcher comes out in black and white terms, she is painted as the evil dictator who ruined the country or the golden saviour who dragged us out of decline. I don't think she was either, she had a strong handle on government but her record of achievements is not as strong as her supporters would like to suggest.

Well last time I looked that was illegal as well and a criminal offence.

i have Maggie Thatcher in my works dead pool, was gutted when she went to hospital the other day, i thought it was serious but just a broken arm.

some big money riding on her

wires 71 beat you to it,i read in the culcheth gazette that he had several thousands of pounds on danny la rue.

Born into Thatcher I was raised in hell

When they're treated on the NHS for Lung Cancer, how do you propose they are billed in compliance with your illegal activities bill?