Quote: Timbo @ June 19 2008, 10:10 PM BSTOh, and as for breaking the power of the Unions, which needed doing, yes she did, but at a hell of a price. It is just a shame that Callaghan had not backed Barbara Castle when she had tried to do the same thing.
Agreed, the price was high, but he didn't and so somebody with more bottle had to?
Callaghan, alas, was lack of bottle personified. They say the reason Wilson moved him out of the Treasury was because he blubbed.
Most men (and women) have every right to hate her.
But a depressing number hate her even more for being a woman in power. Seems to make them feel way more passionate about their hatred.
If she was a man and had done all the same things, she'd still be hated by those people, but I don't think with quite so much vitriol.
She also gets defeminised a lot. I don't know what that means about the people who do it.
On reflection, it was nice to grow up for a bit with a woman in power though. Even if she was a horrible git.
Quote: Timbo @ June 19 2008, 10:10 PM BSTAnd you people really should watch Andrew Marr's History of Modern Britain. You don't know who you are unless you know where you came from.
Quoting for emphasis.
Quote: sootyj @ June 19 2008, 7:13 PM BSTAnd channel 4 proof that station could be public/private funded.
And it has done everything it could to wriggle out of its public service remit ever since. No that it it would ever have had a public service remit if she had had her way.
I may be uneducated on all the facts of MRS T but Poll Tax aside.
What did she do that was so terrible?
I want to learn. Teach me.
I don't have a clue about politics.
My brother told me that people are planning a party in Trafalgar Square when she pops her clogs. It's probaly just an idle promise.
Quote: zooo @ June 19 2008, 10:18 PM BSTBut a depressing number hate her even more for being a woman in power. Seems to make them feel way more passionate about their hatred.
I didn't hate her for being a woman either then or now. I didn't hate her at the time either. In the seventies we had the 3 day week because there wasn't enough fuel to power all the country. At any point the power could switch off and did, regularly. The country needed sorting out and when she got power in 79 she did just that. But it had a high cost and many people hate her for the greed culture that manifested in the latter part of her "reign"
Quote: Alan C @ June 19 2008, 10:25 PM BSTI didn't hate her for being a woman either then or now.
Well no, I woudn't expect you to be one of those people. I'm talking proper twats.
She did have something to do with Section 28 I think. Which is not good.
I'm still not sure what a 3 day week entailed.
Quote: zooo @ June 19 2008, 10:31 PM BSTI'm still not sure what a 3 day week entailed.
It meant that factories/companies could only open for 3 days of the week - they decided to only pay people for those days as well
But that meant a 4 day weekend?...
Quote: zooo @ June 19 2008, 10:35 PM BSTBut that meant a 4 day weekend?...
Nope it wasn't mon-wed, it varied for each company, but you can't enjoy your leisure time when you have no money to pay the bills?
Quote: zooo @ June 19 2008, 10:31 PM BSTI'm still not sure what a 3 day week entailed.
The miners were striking so often, and for so long, that a three-day working week had to be imposed on commercial premises in order to try and conserve electricity.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three-Day_Week
Quote: Alan C @ June 19 2008, 10:37 PM BSTNope it wasn't mon-wed, it varied for each company, but you can't enjoy your leisure time when you have no money to pay the bills?
And no bills to pay, because there wasn't electricity to use in the first place. 
I'm so glad that my anecdotal evidence has been replaced by wiki - there is no need for real people anymore