[spiralpolitik]

UK Manufacturing died because of the decision by the Thatcher government to privatize previously nationalized industries and abandoning the policy of full employment, happily accepting 2-3 million unemployed if it meant cheaper goods and services in the short term.

The unions certainly didn't help their cause, but it took two to tango to create the mess that is the UK economy.

[blasterford]

Read the book (Or some other facts from the time).

She had to privatise industries because they became ridiculously uncompetitive and expensive to run.

During the previous socialist government the number of public sector workers increased drastically.

British steel was haemorrhaging money. And the unions response? Demand pay increases and strike. Same with the coal industry.

Would you rather she kept us paying billions in ever increasing public sector wage demands?

"Full employment" should not be a policy. You don't spend public money employing unproductive workers in useless public sector jobs just for the hell of it.

Full employment is something that happens naturally when individuals take responsibility for themselves.

The UK economy is a mess because of drastic overspending by socialist governments. Something we're having to put right (again). Shame the lessons of the 70s/80s weren't learnt.

[spiralpolitik]

FYI I actually lived through the Thatcher years so witnessed first hand the effects of her policies. I lived in one of the communities that she destroyed through her policies of privatization (enriching her supporters in the process) leaving thousands of workers with no future employment prospects and very little hope as the private sector having made its money promptly left town and did not deliver any of the promised new jobs.

(I agree that the actions of the unions in 70s are also to the blame, but a better approach would have been to engage the unions and slowly transition to better balance of public and private sector industries rather than the union busting and throwing the baby out with the bathwater that MacGregor and Thatcher did)

In answer to your question would I rather pay billions in the cost of benefits to support people being unemployed or billions keeping people working in nationalized industries or the public sector ? At least with the latter you are getting something back for your money rather than people sitting on their arse all day watching daytime TV.

[blasterford]

I lived through it too.

I fundamentally believe that it is NOT and should not be the task of the government to "create" jobs.

We should toughen up benefits, which the current government is already doing, to ensure people out of work don't just sit on their arses all day.

You cannot do what the past socialist governments have done - create tons of unnecessary public sector jobs paid for by debt. That is unfair to everyone and just has to be paid for later.