Now -read the book!

Here is a link to my memoirs which, if you are a glutton for punishment, you can purchase online at https://www.kobo.com/gb/en/ebook/an-obscure-footnote-in-trade-union-history.
Men fight and lose the battle, and the thing that they fought for comes about in spite of their defeat, and when it comes turns out not to be what they meant, and other men have to fight for what they meant under another name. (William Morris - A Dream of John Ball)

Wednesday, April 10, 2013

TUC General Secretary tells it like it is about the legacy of Margaret Thatcher

The first female General Secretary of the Trades Union Congress has some fine words about the legacy of Margaret Thatcher (http://m.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/apr/09/clearing-up-margaret-thatchers-mess);



"she assumed no responsibility to minimise social disruption or to create new jobs and industries"



"The family silver was squandered on bribing voters rather than modernising the economy"



"The 70s was Britain's most equal decade. The jobs that went during the 80s tended to be good, skilled jobs, delivering decent incomes and some security. She failed to replace those jobs with well-paid equivalents. Demonising unions and stripping the great mass of private-sector workers of a voice and power in the workplace is still the root of the great living standards crisis that saw the share of wealth going to wages slide long before Lehman Brothers failed"



"The financial crash of 2008 was a direct result of the policies Thatcher championed. The dominance of finance in the economy and the failure of bank regulation flowed from her belief that markets should always be left to themselves"



It is good to see the General Secretary of the TUC refuses to be cowed into sycophancy by the rabid response to criticism of a divisive and reactionary Prime Minister.

Sent using BlackBerry® from Orange

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