Is life really worse under Labour or am I taking the Torygraph (essential reading chez Moondog) too seriously? Particularly interested in what you old gimmers who remember thatcher have to say.

[moondog]

Thanking yew.

The Northern Ireland question was sorted out by the work John Major did, not TB

No, it really wasn't, Cam.

This piece is good - I know it's Andrew Rawnsley in the Guardian but although he says

"Major...took that significant initial step even though his parliamentary majority was disappearing and even though the Tories were historically a unionist party.His government was too weak for him to take the peace process any further forward, but he laid the foundations for others to build on"

it was 10 more years before the Troubles were finally left behind (or before "his work sorted it out"...)

The Irish guy who was the go-between (a shadow figure who worked for 30 years on the problem) credited John Major with taking the brave step that set the peace process up.

Poobah - I recall history very differently re the Falklands War. I recall Tory popularity being the lowest of a reigning govts. since WW2. I recall the Argentinians sending their chief diplomat to the Foreign Office to explain their claim to the Malvinas. The Argentinians sent a landing craft to South Georgia with the full knowledge of the Brit. govt. Days later they hold their hands up in mock horror and announce a 'conflict'. They couldn't label it a war as they had ignored every detail of the Geneva Convention on war by effectively inviting it. Brit. soldiers died to keep Thatcher in office.

And Ireland, yes Major's govt did respond best and first to the delicate manoeverings of the Republicans to seek a 'solution' to Northern Ireland. Let's not forget it was the IRA that paved the way to the Good Friday Agreement. Dr. Paisley refused to sign up to it. He was dragged kicking and screaming into this century by 1. Events in South Africa re the ANC and 2. unsubtle threats from Major's govt. that NI was getting too expensive a problem to allow to fester.

from an old gimmer.

The Andrew Rawnsley piece also mentions a "significant initial step" by Major. But 10 years on, how much credit could he (or would he wish to) take?

yes, WW, I do like the AR piece a lot. BUT, he is writing from a Brit. liberal standpoint. If a radical, liberal journalist were to write a similar item from the Irish side, it would read a whole lot different.

The chasm between the Brit. and the Irish is way too large to grasp, for any individual, in a short snappy bit of journalism.
But yes, Blair too WAY too much credit than was due. As in so many other areas.