At the end of the day, the OP isn't going to get a balanced view of a political question on ARRSE. It's like a drunken version of the Daily Hate.

None at all - just pissed off at you continually nit picking when someone makes comments you don't like or agree with. Keep on subject.

Magaret Thatcher - Nuff Said.

As someone was was 15yrs old in 1972 I was pretty well placed to see the Before and After picture. The first miners strike saw the country on a 3 day week and regular power cuts that had us recruits sitting round a Hurricane lamp in our Spider bulling our boots. The country was an economic basket case and known internationally as "the Sick man of Europe. Trade union militancy was rampant and there was a real question of "Who Runs Britain", Govt. or the Unions. In fact Ted Heath went to the country on that question and the country, fed up to the back teeth of endless strikes and industrial strife bravely answered "Well not you mate" and he was out. Labour got back in and more importantly Maggie was made leader of the Tories, the long national nightmare was about to end.....well in about 4 years time anyway. The continuing mismanagement of the country under Wilson and then Callaghan was sufficient to convince anyone with a brain that Labour wasn't the answer and the Unions helped a few waverers across the line by helpfully bringing the country to its knees again in 1979 with their "Winter of Discontent" (in the middle of which I read recently, Tony Benn, then a Govt. Minister, circulated a 19 page letter to all ministers laying out the case for Marxism!!!).
It is not a myth that bodies went unburied because the Unions wouldn't allow the graves to be dug, and refuse was piled high in the streets as the bin-men were on strike. The mess was cleared up by the Army of course. This was a time when our so-called industries, inefficient,unprofitable and
all riddled with bloody-minded openly-communist wreckers like Red Robbo at Longbridge, Mick Mcgahey and of course Arthur Scargill, were writing their own suicide notes. In a nutshel we were producing nothing that anyone wanted to buy at a price no-one would pay anyway, these weren't industries, they were an elaborate system of outdoor relief, like the Bog roads in Ireland, and subsidizing them was bleeding the country dry and preventing it's modernisation. Anyway, the Japanese and Koreans made bigger and better ships, faster and at a lower price than us. Ditto for steel, car-making, coal production and just about everything else you could think.
The forces were starved of cash and I recall little meaningfull training apart from that required for Op. Banner, everything else was in short suppply and morale was pretty poor. In most areas of life we were years behind everybody else and the state owned all sorts of thing which it had no business owning. it took f**king ages to get a phone line installed and the only phones available were black or white, like it or lump it. You had no choice as to who supplied your gas, electricity, water etc and you paid what was asked and put-up or shut-up. Honestly it was a differnt world, think East Germany with a Queen and you wouldn't be far off, and we all wore flares, platform shoes and and big F**k-Off collars too!

Agreed - "The Iron Lady" was not for turning.

And just why should he tell you his age? Are you the age Nazi or something?

He commented that he only remembers a Labour government - OK. I am sure that he would have heard about Thatcher the Snatcher from elsewhere. As to age it could be that he means that he remembers Labour as an adult, even so it is irrelevant. Go somewhere else and bully someone else.

As to the Tories, you may have noticed that they are as popular as toothache in Scotland. Only 1 MP at Westminster

As you are so interested, I am 49 and as I said earlier, never took much interest in politics until lately. When I was younger I had wads of money, but then who didn't, living with their parents and giving them a few bob. The rest was beer money. As you get older, there is more to think about than beer money, bills to pay, so you begin to look at which party offers the best deal, unless of course you are narrow minded and will follow any part blindly.

As you are so interested, I am 49 and as I said earlier, never took much interest in politics until lately. When I was younger I had wads of money, but then who didn't, living with their parents and giving them a few bob. The rest was beer money. As you get older, there is more to think about than beer money, bills to pay, so you begin to look at which party offers the best deal, unless of course you are narrow minded and will follow any part blindly.

Before Auntie Maggie only three people in our street could afford a car. after Maggie everyone over the age of 19 had their own car.
So I blame all the hold ups on the M25 on the bloody tories.

During Soviet times I haven't a car. During Yeltsin rule I have one, inexpensive Russian made car. Today under Putin our family of 4 have 4 cars made abroad including 3 new Japanese cars.

But it doesn't matter. Putin is a moron.

By the way who realised such a brilliant idea as privatisation of British rails?

Then out of work, but by Monday always had another job.

During Soviet times I haven't a car. During Yeltsin rule I have one, inexpensive Russian made car. Today under Putin our family of 4 have 4 cars made abroad including 3 new Japanese cars.

But it doesn't matter. Putin is a moron.

By the way who realised such a brilliant idea as privatisation of British rails?

yep I remember the winter of discontent, took no interest as I was working all the hours I could and playing soldiers on weekends. I remember Maggie coming to power, parents had the right to buy their council house, which they did. Maggie gave the forces a huge budget which was great for my TA side. So I had work and TA.

Then out of work, but by Monday always had another job.

Maggie was always known as Thatcher the milk snatcher

Better than 'Brown world class Clown'