O/T The Gov, Not Fit for Fracking Purpose!!!

[KerrAvon]

Even those two balloons ( Blair , Brown ) paid off more national debt than Thatcher ever did .

This despite selling the country's assets to private enterprise , mind you if you sell them way below market value then what can you expect .

Then again if you are selling to your mates you give then mate rate reductions don't you ?

I suppose if two recessions , 3 million on the dole , the country's assets sold off for toffee , 15% interest rates , a North South divide created for ever is the price to be paid to extinguish the working class and trade unions then more fool you Kerr .

Even more a fool if you grew up in this area and witness the Thatcher legacy at first hand .

Still we have the Falklands war to celebrate .

The Miner’s Strike was a little bit off the topic of this thread and the history of the national debt even more so, but I’ll try to give as brief an answer as possible.

You are wrong to say that Blair and Brown paid off more than Thatcher. That should have been apparent to you given that you confirmed in post 83 that the Blair and Brown governments increased the national debt.

The figures are these:

1979 – Thatcher elected – national debt 43.6% of GDP
1990 – Thatcher leaves office – national debt 26.7%
1997 – Blair elected – national debt 40.4% (Major had been a naughty boy, in more ways than one)
2002 – National debt under Labour reaches 37.1%
2007 - 43.7%
2010 – 78.4%

If you believe that the Thatcher governments should have achieved a greater level of debt reduction, can you indicate what further cuts they should have made?

I take it you are referring to the privatisation of the utilities etc. when you talk about the sale of assets? You may recall that a number of the less risky sales, such at BT and British Gas, saw a significant number of shares being offered directly to the public who were able to make modest profits. The majority of the remainder would have gone to institutional investors, such as the pension funds that provide pensions for ordinary working people. The proceeds of the sales were used to reduce national debt and to provide public services and we were left with services being provided by private companies with efficiencies being driven by market forces. It was a win-win-win and it is hard to understand how anyone could seriously criticise that outcome.

I disliked Thatcher intensely at the time, but hindsight tells me that she was the right prime minister for the period. When she came to power, we were the sick man of Europe. You mention the Callaghan government reducing the national debt, but forget to mention that they were forced to do that as a condition of the 1976 emergency bailout by the IMF to keep the country from going bust. Union power was out of control leaving us with the protection racket known as the closed shop in a country wracked with strikes notably during the winter of discontent, which sealed the fate of Labour for the best part of two decades. We were throwing money to keep lame duck industries alive. The medicine for that sickness wasn’t very nice, but it was necessary.

I don't see much to celebrate in the Falklands War. It occurred during due to failings in foreign policy by the government that caused the Argentinians to believe that the UK would take no action if they were seized. How anyone could celebrate the deaths that followed those mistakes is beyond me, but each to their own.

[Amanda_Hugg_n_Kiss]

Good grief.

[animallittle3]

Is it true you ran Kerr out of Rovrum and he's in witness protection ?

[Amanda_Hugg_n_Kiss]

https://youtu.be/KhiLYvHtUE8

[monty_rhodes]

Is it true you ran Kerr out of Rovrum and he's in witness protection ?

I doubt that Kerr knows where Rotherham is.

[KerrAvon]

I doubt that Kerr knows where Rotherham is.

Aah. I've rattled your cage haven't I monty? I've trip-trapped over your bridge.

[monty_rhodes]

Aah. I've rattled your cage haven't I monty? I've trip-trapped over your bridge.

Kerr, you're a laugh. Did you know that a bloke with your username regularly appears on the Blades and Barnsley Mad sites claiming to be a lifelong supporter and falling out with everyone because they all think he's a pompous twerp? And you're the one accusing others of being attention seekers!! Kempo wasn't right about much but he was bang on when he said you were a Walter Mitty wannabee.

[KerrAvon]

Kerr, you're a laugh. Did you know that a bloke with your username regularly appears on the Blades and Barnsley Mad sites claiming to be a lifelong supporter and falling out with everyone because they all think he's a pompous twerp? And you're the one accusing others of being attention seekers!! Kempo wasn't right about much but he was bang on when he said you were a Walter Mitty wannabee.

You really are an arse, monty. Perhaps you can give an example of me claiming to be supporter of any club.

[monty_rhodes]

You really are an arse, monty. Perhaps you can give an example of me claiming to be supporter of any club.

I know it happened but when I woke up my memory had gone. If you accept the "pompous twerp" bit and admit to prowling at least 3 Mad sites I'll accept you're not a supporter (of anybody).

[Grist_To_The_Mill]

Odd to think that had the anti fracking mentality existed when coal mining started in this area what South Yorkshire would now look like.

Maybe no RUFC?