Purple Brain
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Ditto.
The UK could certainly use another one of her as she was in her prime right now.
The UK could certainly use another one of her as she was in her prime right now.
Ditto.
The UK could certainly use another one of her as she was in her prime right now.
The only pluses as far as I can see were :-
Won the Falklands War - just.
Sold council homes cheaply.
Anything else ?
No that's it, the rest was pretty trivial, stuff likeThe only pluses as far as I can see were :-
Won the Falklands War - just.
Sold council homes cheaply.
Anything else ?
The only pluses as far as I can see were :-
Won the Falklands War - just.
Sold council homes cheaply.
Anything else ?
Didn't know where to start on Thatcher's Achievements as there were so many, some of which were quite personal to me in being in the right place at the right time. I consider myself honoured to have intersected with her prime years.
Started googling (as you do) to put together a concise list and found one that looks pretty good without emendation. So here it is.
1. Ended Socialism in Britain. She privatized state-owned industries and allowed tenants in council houses the right to buy their homes. Margaret Thatcher privatized industries by selling shares and millions of Britons became the first in their family to own stock in a company.
2. Revitalized the British economy. Margaret Thatcher cut taxes and regulation quite far. When she became prime minister in 1979, the top tax rate was 98%; the bottom rate was 65%. However much or little you earned, you were paying most of your money in taxes. When Margaret Thatcher left office in 1990, the top tax rate was only 40% and the bottom tax rate was 25%. This allowed people to keep more of their own money and buy things. By cutting regulation, Margaret Thatcher allowed business to thrive in Britain.
3. Cut the power of the trade unions. Margaret Thatcher introduced legislation to mandate secret ballots among union members before having a strike and banning secondary picketing. The number of strikes went way down. Also, by defeating strikes such as the Miners' Strike and the steel strike, Margaret Thatcher sent a message loud and clear that striking won't work anymore.
4. Radically changed British society. Margaret Thatcher's policies of free enterprise, privatization, home ownership and less government allowed millions of Britons to move up in society. As a result, the class system was weakened, more people moved into the middle class and upward mobility became the 'in' thing.
5. Won the Falklands War. When Argentina invaded the Falkland Islands in 1982, Margaret Thatcher sent a large navy task force down to retake those islands. Britain won the Falklands War and it was Britain's first military victory since 1945. The Falklands Victory forever broke the blue funk Britain had been in since the end of World War II and made Britain feel proud, strong and confident again.
6. Through her friend, President Ronald Reagan, Margaret Thatcher won the Cold War. President Reagan would not have been President Reagan if it was not for Margaret Thatcher. She became Prime Minister before Reagan was elected president and her example made it possible for Reagan to be elected. As president, Reagan often looked to her for guidance and leadership in waging the Cold War.
7. Got Iraq out of Kuwait. When Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait in August 1990, Margaret Thatcher was visiting President George H. W. Bush in Colorado and she told him forcefully that he must send troops to Saudi Arabia and get Kuwait freed. Bush the elder did not dare disagree with Mrs. Thatcher so he did what she told him.
8. Created the world we live in today. The fact that capitalism and democracy are seen as the best and only viable forms of political economy is all because of Margaret Thatcher. Other countries around the world followed her example.
{OK 6 & & are a bit 'iffy'}
I'll leave it to others to add their own.
Big Bang ?
You can't 'just' win a war, you either win or lose. The victory also led to the downfall of the military dictatorship in Argentina, a regime that had killed tens of thousands of its own people. Still I'm sure the preservation of hat making in Luton was much more important.
I imagine it was some time before you took another trade that good.When I was in London, once, the pound went to 120 pestas, when it was normally 165. I changed all my travellers cheques at once.
Have you just had a largely liquid lunch PB ?
If someone wins a war then their opponent loses it.
The downfall of the cruel dictatorship is probably largely forgotten now by most Argentines. But think how popular it would have been if it had won.
What hat making in Luton has to do with anything is beyond me.
I imagine it was some time before you took another trade that good.
Have you just had a largely liquid lunch PB ?
If someone wins a war then their opponent loses it.
The downfall of the cruel dictatorship is probably largely forgotten now by most Argentines. But think how popular it would have been if it had won.
What hat making in Luton has to do with anything is beyond me.
Have you just had a largely liquid lunch PB ?
If someone wins a war then their opponent loses it.
The downfall of the cruel dictatorship is probably largely forgotten now by most Argentines. But think how popular it would have been if it had won.
What hat making in Luton has to do with anything is beyond me.
Just in case you missed it...the Falklands is still a hot topic currently...and Argentina does have another complete nut job as leader presently.
keeper of the eternal flame said:Bill Bailey @BillBailey 23h
For £10 million I would have had a solid gold coffin pulled by cloned mammoths
funeral costs:
......bill clearly doesn't trade gold, those coffins keep depreciating...