Thatcher Revelations

[Quackers]

From the Telegraph:

Other international leaders - including the US president and Soviet premier - also felt the force of the Iron Lady soon after, newly released National Archive documents show.

A month after her election, Lady Thatcher broached Europe’s cost to British taxpayers in her first meeting with Valery Giscard d'Estaing, the French president.

She said she had "a very major problem" with Britain's £1 billion net contribution to the European budget, which was far higher than other countries’.

Mr Giscard suggested a forthcoming summit in Strasbourg be used "to establish the facts and analyse them", according to the minutes.

But Lady Thatcher said “the facts had already been established" and “ideas how the position could be corrected" were needed.

It was five years before she secured Britain’s multi-billion pound budget rebate, which was later slashed by Tony Blair.

The US also felt Lady Thatcher’s firm hand. Washington had refused to allow the export of revolvers intended for use by the Royal Ulster Constabulary.

It said it did not wish to take sides in the Northern Irish conflict, which prompted anger from Lady Thatcher over Irish-American links to the IRA.

The prime minister privately accused the US of "financing terrorism” and said they “must be brought to face the consequences of their actions."

She raised the issue in a later meeting with Jimmy Carter, then president, but he remained firm on the ban.

British diplomats also complained bitterly to Irish authorities that they had failed to protect Lord Mountbatten, the uncle of the Duke of Edinburgh.

Lord Mountbatten was killed on August 27, 1979 when the IRA detonated a bomb on his boat at his Irish holiday home in Mullaghmore, County Sligo. The "apathetic reaction" of the Irish prime minister Jack Lynch, was also criticised.

The papers also document Lady Thatcher’s meeting with Aleksei Kosygin, the premier of the Soviet Union, which gave her the “Iron Lady” epithet for her anti-communist comments while in opposition.

According to the minute, Mr Kosygin told Lady Thatcher “the Soviet Union was a peace-loving country” and “not the aggressive country which some people professed to believe.”

However, she said "he should not be so modest” as “nobody who had seen the Soviet tanks and missiles which were paraded through Red Square would underestimate the Soviet Union's capacity."

She also said Mr Kosygin must “do everything possible” to prevent the communist Vietnamese government driving out its Chinese population.

So in spite of these revelations what do you feel about Thatcher now?

For me the ugly image promoted by the media and Labour politicians of her is evil. She managed to get us back from being the sick man of Europe economically into some of the highest economic growth figures in years. Basically she prevented us from turning into a 2nd rate power and we remained a Great power. I particulary like the comments about the Americans and the Troubles conflict absolutely right in my opinion. You can't imagine someone like Brown or Blair or Major or any other loser PM making those comments. The rebate on the EU is just very, very good shows a handsome respect for public money far more than Brown. Overral she is definitly in the top tier of PMs and maybe even the best post-WW2.

 

[Bill3000]

I particulary like the comments about the Americans and the Troubles conflict absolutely right in my opinion.

You're right. We should have outright supported the Republicans.

 

[otago]

From the Telegraph:



So in spite of these revelations what do you feel about Thatcher now?

For me the ugly image promoted by the media and Labour politicians of her is evil. She managed to get us back from being the sick man of Europe economically into some of the highest economic growth figures in years. Basically she prevented us from turning into a 2nd rate power and we remained a Great power. I particulary like the comments about the Americans and the Troubles conflict absolutely right in my opinion. You can't imagine someone like Brown or Blair or Major or any other loser PM making those comments. The rebate on the EU is just very, very good shows a handsome respect for public money far more than Brown. Overral she is definitly in the top tier of PMs and maybe even the best post-WW2.

A great power in what sense ? even India is far more powerful than the UK when it comes to the military now.
Thatcher will be remembered for her idea of a poll tax where she wanted those with sod all to pay the same as the wealthy.
A great power has nukes, so does Pakistan.

 

[amadeus]

You're right. We should have outright supported the Republicans.

Yeah, that's a good idea... support Irish Catholic Marxists with ties to Hezbollah and the Libyans.

 

[Bei1052]

Yeah, that's a good idea... support Irish Catholic Marxists with ties to Hezbollah and the Libyans.

Libya's never hurt anybody...

 

[sophie]

But they're part of the axis of evil I tell ya!

 

[GravityWave]

Libya's never hurt anybody...

Tell it to Yvonne Fletcher's family.

 

[Senethro]

and we remained a Great power.

Hah! You're out of touch mate.

 

[Heretic_Cata]

It was also revealed she smoked Benson & Hedges.

So 2 from me.

 

[Cutlass]

Basically she prevented us from turning into a 2nd rate power and we remained a Great power.

You've been a second rate power since 1918.

 

[Patroklos]

I am not sure how anyone could think otherwise given the Falklands. A second teir power you are, and have been for a while. Its not a bad position though as its all relative. The gap between first tier and second is not nearly as big as the gap between second and third tier.

 

[RedRalph]

I am not sure how anyone could think otherwise given the Falklands. A second teir power you are, and have been for a while. Its not a bad position though as its all relative. The gap between first tier and second is not nearly as big as the gap between second and third tier.

Who would you put in the second tier?

 

[Quackers]

Ok to settle the "Great Power" or "2nd power" question I think this:

Superpower: USA
Great Power: Russia, China, India, UK, Germany, France and mayybbbeee Japan (no particular order)
2nd Rate: Italy, Mexico, Spain.

This is the way I'm scaling it so I think people misunderstood what i meant.

 

[Quackers]

Libya's never hurt anybody...

Apart from the Lockebie bombing...

 

[Patroklos]

Who would you put in the second tier?

France, Germany, Japan, Brazil.

In the Great Powers I would put the US (a consider a super power just a sub set of great powers), China, India and Russia.

 

[bathsheba666]

It is generally accepted that Thatcher is demented right now.

However, it is also widely thought that this condition goes back many years.
Same as with Raygun.

Her asinine policies caused riots and poverty in the uk.
After the widespread devastation she caused in the UK in the early 80s, she would have been consigned to the dustbin of history.
Unfortunately the Argentinians chose to attack the Falklands, and she was rescued at the next election by the deranged sentiments aroused in the lower orders that she had somehow restored britain's greatness by beating up some third world power.
As sickening as this petty chest beating was, it was amusing to see Raygun try the same tack by subsequently invading grenada and seeing this also boost patriotic pride.
Probably a rare example of the us following the uk.

She came to power on the claim that the labour government "wasn't working", as evidenced by 1 million people unemployed.
Within a short time her policies resulted in 3 milion people unemployed. That is pretty sick.

She also promoted the myth that privatised companies were more efficient than government.
Remember her early privatisation of gas and electricity?
As the government sold off lots of nationalised industries, her ministers trumpeted how electricity and gas would be better handled in the private sector.

Embarrassed coughing from backstage, and it emerged that none of these efficient private companies wanted to buy, because the charges were too low.
No problem..... the government promptly spent the next few years jacking up the price charged for gas and electricity by several times the rate of inflation.
Eventually they got it to a point where private companies were willing to buy,
....and to promise below inflation rises for years to come ....altogether now.... because of their greater efficiency than nationalised operations.

No surprise then, the usual tory complete fraud.

May she continue to rot.

 

[Formaldehyde]

I agree. I think there are some obvious parallels between Thatcher and Reagan/GHWB, as there are between Tony Blair and GWB.

I think Britain needs to set term limits on the Prime Minister so this sort of thing can't happen again. Eleven and a half years is far too long.

 

[amadeus]

Embarassed coughing from backstage, and it emerged that none of these efficient private companies wanted to buy, because the charges were too low.
No problem..... the government promptly spent the next few years jacking up the price charged for gas and electricity by several times the rate of inflation.

People had to pay for the utilities they used?! That monster!

 

[Grimz101]

People had to pay for the utilities they used?! That monster!

Indeed, the thought that the government should use its money more efficiently investing in growth instead of on the utility companies, where it is heavily squandered & mis-allocated is just preposterous, damn that satanic woman !

 

[Ulyaoth]

She came to power on the claim that the labour government "wasn't working", as evidenced by 1 million people unemployed.
Within a short time her policies resulted in 3 milion people unemployed. That is pretty sick.

It could have been worse, thus she is the greatest prime minister ever. Carve her face into some kind of national monument.