My brief appreciation of MHT has been republished almost entire in today’s issue of The Independent:
Sean Gabb
I should say that I worshipped her in the 1980s, and cried when she resigned. Though I was mistaken about her, I still can’t help feeling a certain regard. What I wrote yesterday is what I think about her. But is isn’t the whole of what I think about her. That would take a much longer article.
Discover more from The Libertarian Alliance
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
The brief summing up of Maggie T’s career was set out very well by you yesterday Dr Gabb. It’s subsequent impact upon the UK’s entire social structure was, I thought, just about spot on. Out of respect at her passing I’m sure, that maybe you were being a little too forgiving of her… but that’s all. Perhaps you might care to elaborate further down the road when the funeral dust settles; although polishing your novel writing skills might prove to be time better spent.
It was Maggie’s policy of rewarding those who suffered unremitting greed (enthusiastically endorsed by her) that set in train huge problems for the financially ambitious British worker. Especially the colliers. They’d read and heard what she’d advocated the greedy to do and quite rightly demanded their share. She decided upon a different policy for them however and that, come what may, the UK’s coal-miners were never going to become rich. All manner of banksters and corporate bosses were given the greed green-light. So where the professions; especially accountants and those engaged in the practice of law. Even football players – sports poor relatives – began to dream of unimaginably large pay-packets.
It was Maggie herself who then taught the professional classes that it was ok – a god-given right in fact – to amass fortunes for themselves without caring a jot about the men manning the shovels of industry. The wealthy could, henceforth, grow super-wealthy and be constrained no longer by the drag of chains over the backs of the ruthlessly exploited.
The destruction of the coal industry proves a good example of Maggie’s attitude toward the British working class.
The leader of the miners’ union, whose name I refuse to write, decided to lead his members out on strike. Sadly, he refused to listen how going out on strike at the beginning of Spring when power stations needed to be starved of fuel quickly might not be his greatest great idea. Nevertheless, he called them out onto Maggie’s field of battle and the lads dropped two goals within a few weeks. Then, spotting the opposition’s leadership weaknesses, Maggie managed to change the law to suit her team. She got away with it and started using her cops like dog-soldiers. Pits closed wholesale and miners were soon put out to grass. Coal importation began to grow.
Colliers earned every penny they ever received – make no mistake. God bless each and everyone of them living or dead. Which is something no one will ever be able to truthfully say about the UK’s new-wealthy.
RIP MHT of course – the old girl’s gone off.