Dh and I get on well ususally, then he sings the praises of Margaret Thatcher and I want to punch him.........

[DrNortherner]

Why oh why did I marry a tory

Aaaaargh....................

Help me with a list of things she did not do well:

Poll tax
Closure of industry
Privatisation of services
Crap schools
Belgrano

Not true that the majority voted for her.

She always got in on a minority of the votes.

As most British govts do in a first past the post system.

I think one of the main things she did, was usher in the cost of everything and the value of nothing mentality. So for example, it was under Thatcher that park-keepers and bus conductors were abolished. They seemed like a waste of money. What was not analysed, was the nebulous social benefits of having them in parks/ on buses - two or three figures of authority together, with the power to call on other authority, inhibited bad behaviour. A bus driver wasn't so isolated and vulnerable, it's a psychological thing. Nowadays, bus drivers have screens instead of moral support and buses are places which are really quite frightening and unpleasant. Parks (at least in my area) are practically deserted, because they have been given over to the lowest common denominator - drug users and menacing teenagers who would not have been allowed to colonise the public spaces with a couple of parkies around. That nebulous social order thing, was what was whittled away and Desi is right, New Labour are continuing to do that. Hence the complete lack of respect for the work of carers etc. - you only realise what people do, when they stop doing it.

Oh and she abolished the dog licence, so every irresponsible yobbo can have a dog and train it to be vicious and abolished the regulation of school meals so that our kids ate turkey twizzlers for a generation.

Oh I'll stop now and go to bed

Elizabeth, she didnt say it - it was her nickname in the Consevative party!

TINA - there is no alternative. most of them hated her too, but she did bring in the votes. they hated her for being lower middle class and a woman, not because of her policies.

Sorry Little Bella but we don't have a first past the post system in Britain - that would be proportional representation wouldn't it?

As far as I'm aware she always had the majority, otherwise it would have been a hung parliament and I'm sure that was not the case.

I am too much of a suffragette to encourage anyone not to vote whatever they are voting for. DH very floatin/apathetic and it is the apathetic that gets on my norks.

She got a majority of seats, but a minority of voters actually put a cross in the box for her.

The rest of your post Little Bella is of corse fab

Des what I mean is that there is lots of evidence/research now showing that she did go down the political route of solving the invasion she very quickly went gung ho for military action.

OK, so a minority of people actually voted for her, so a huge majority chose bot to vote for her but not to vote for anyone else either

Elizabeth - thatch used to listen to every single point of view on an issue, then she would make up her mind and after that she was inflexible. that was what was said in the party at the time anyway.
she was also far more influenced by her dh than either of them ever let on, I think.

Good post, Bella

Nah I just don't think so, it's not enough to say, ok we disagree about this but you think you're right and I'll respect it and leave it there.
People's opinions are based on all sorts inc moral frameworks and experiences and so on and so yes if you disagree with someone you end up questioning them on that basis to a certain extent.
I don't think anyone is accusing anyone here of being inherently 'bad' but yeah people here could be wrong, who knows even me .
It should be possible to challenge people's views and morals without falling into totalitarism IMO

LB, the first past the post system equates to this:-

In every constituency, the candidate who gets the most votes wins. It's so logical it's mind-blowing.

So, if 50 people vote Tory, 49 people vote Labour, and 48 people vote LD, that's a big, fat Tory win in that ward.

If that was replicated in every constituency, on paper it looks like a slim margin.

But no one denies a gold medal to the Olympiad who comes in 0.0000028th of a second in front of her rival. They just accept that she won.

Just like Maggie.

This is great, refighting the eighties. Maybe the lefties will win this time. Mind you Tony Blair was her direct political successor - she privatised industries but he privatised public services which was much, much worse.

Don't get me started on TB!

Surely Des if your example was replicated in every constitancy that would be a huge majority as the Opposition would have no seats?

LOL, but in a democracy D, people are supposed to be represented.

If 49% of the population aren't being represented, you have a big fat democracy problem.

PR has its downsides too, but ...oh I can't be arsed to go there, discussing electoral systems is so boring. (And I'm supposed to have gone to bed.)

Oh you said margin. I'll shut up now

God margin. zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Shell we go to bed littlebella?

(not together of course)

Well, it depends, CarGirl, who's doing the research.

Boys I went to school with fought in the Falklands, and they felt that it was the most just war since WWII.

She may well have been gung ho about it, but that's not at attitude I necessarily disrespect. It was a clear cut case of invasion. Whether the Argentinians like it or not, the Falkland Islands belong to us. It's the equivalent of the Argentinians invading Sussex and thinking they're going to get away with it.

I mean, for the love of God, what was the woman supposed to have done. Nothing? Lie on her back and whimper?

Do you think Tony Blair would have backed off?

I think a lot of people will vote Tory next time but will keep quiet about it. A bit like line dancing.

LOL yes I'm already zzzzzzzzzzzzzing. It was the mention of margins that did it...

Good night all, look forward to finding out if the lefties win this time round

Night littlebella, get yer sleep, there'll no doubt be a revolution in the morning...
Shyeah right....
I'm heading off soon too

Ahh, now you see, sleepy girls, the Thatcher years eventually put an end to all that revolution stuff. That's why it's New Labour .. 'cos they lost the idealogical battle.

If you want to know why socialism can never work, just read that famous paragraph in Captain Corelli's Mandolin