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Ned wrote:

> Out of interest, are you old enough to be able to remember
> Thatcher in power? I mean really remember her?
>
> We have no manufacturing base in this country because of her
> government and the loss of manufacturing industry is one thing
> Common Dave keeps banging on about. (snip)

I was only 20 in 1980, but I knew everything! What's worse I was only watching from the other side of the world. However, because I worked in a machining workshop I kept meeting 'pommy' machinists who had migrated to Oz because the factories back home were already closing down and they thought Britain was going to the dogs. This was happening before 1979.

The loss of British manufacturing is something that saddens me too. I remember working on machines and with tools that were made in GB in the 50's and 60's and the quality was superb. The stuff they started churning out in the late 70's was rubbish - but still cost a packet. I think it happened after the unions went berserk and made demands that meant the factories had to cut quality costs in their products while charging the same price as before. But the customers could see the difference. A crooked sticker proclaiming "Proudly made in Great Britain" stuck on a piece of junk didn't make it any better.

It's a shame that all that skill and talent just disappeared.

I call him 'Etonian Dave' as a quirky way of referring to him, someone else on here referred to him as 'Green Dave' a while ago and you may remember I used to call the last PM 'Gordon The Ego' and I have also referred to to Thatcher above as 'Dame Maggie'.

Regarding people's backgrounds, no one should be excluded from becoming anything because of their background but nor should the ONLY REASON someone becomes something be BECAUSE of their background either. I believe David Cameron is the 19th PM we have had who went to Eton, there have probably been over 100 senior Tory ministers over the last two or three generations who are former Etonians, and the list doesn't end here. The NEXT two Tory PM's are former Etonians aswell - George Osbourne and Boris Johnson - and a generation from now, when David Cameron's son, nephew and Osbourne's son and nephew, are all either senior ministers or the PM, it will be because of their backgrounds too.

Don't the slightly small and insignificant point (as they saw it) about shutting mines for fun and in turn destroying entire communities in one afternoon.

Very few if any have significantly recovered and depending on who you listen to if not done the money they made could have still been coming in for years.

Most/ many are from the legal professions too. Narrow educational strata and narrow occupational strata.

Rodders ?

The best thing about democracy is that the people get who the people vote for*. Unfortunately, that's also the worst thing about it.



*arguments over electoral voting systems aside