NEWSTEAD, England — This is the bust-town Margaret Thatcher built. On a quest to slash waste, Thatcher, as prime minister, moved to shrink the unprofitable state coal industry in Britain — sparking a violent, countrywide miners strike that forever bored the year 1984 into the national consciousness.
When the dust cleared, she had broken the back of once untouchable unions and paved the way for a diverse and globalized energy sector.
In the decades since, communities like Newstead have paid the price, in a part of central England that has the feel of the American rust belt....
‘‘We hate her, we do,’’ said Brian Walker, 84, who lost his last steady job when the Newstead Mine closed. ‘‘Destroyed our lives, that woman did.’’
Thatcher, a fierce Conservative and one of the most towering figures of the 20th century, died April 8 at age 87 after a long struggle with dementia. Britain buried her last week, but what this country of 62 million cannot seem to bury is the intense divide over her legacy.
Nothing appears to polarize Britons more than Thatcher’s economic legacy, and the way one woman’s will effectively reshaped the modern British state in ways still reverberating today.
In the 1980s, Thatcher supported the regeneration of abandoned docklands on Canary Wharf in London into a wholly new financial district that today looks like a mini-Manhattan. Its glistening majesty was given its shine by her government’s ‘‘Big Bang’’ — the name for a massive deregulation of British financial markets that catapulted London into a global banking capital rivaled only by New York.
Is that why they were hit so hard by the banking meltdown?
But for better or worse, the declining role of the state in the British economy since Thatcher’s day has also been the chief driver in income inequity, which has surged in Britain since her election in 1979.
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Related:
Skipping Thatcher's Services
Emotions clash at Thatcher funeral
Someone read a letter:
"Thatcher papers show fascination with Reagan visit" by Gregory Katz | Associated Press, December 29, 2012
LONDON — Formerly confidential papers made public Friday reveal there were raised eyebrows, and bruised feelings, when Reagan did not answer the sort of invite that usually commands a prompt reply the world over. The queen’s invitation was left to languish for weeks — something the British believe is simply Not Done....
The misunderstanding was eventually cleared up — and Reagan even found the time to go horseback riding with the queen....
The tiff over the tardy reply is but one revelation contained in nearly 500 pages of newly released documents relating to the Reagan visit made public Friday by Britain’s National Archives. The dossier shows the British government — led by Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher — to be extraordinarily interested in pleasing the president on his two-day visit.
Reminds one of the dodgy dossier Tony Bliar used to help get the Iraq invasion going.
Reminds one of the dodgy dossier Tony Bliar used to help get the Iraq invasion going.
British leaders also fretted that perennial cross-Channel rivals might triumph in the tug-of-war for presidential face time in a visit that had to be sandwiched between two summits on the European mainland. They feared he might cancel, because of time pressure or a reluctance to offend other European leaders who wanted meetings with Reagan.
The dossier is filled with serious political concerns — how to maximize Britain’s influence on US policy — and lighter matters, including what gift to give the Reagans (they decided on a carriage clock), and what type of horse and saddle Reagan would most enjoy for his ride with the queen.
Nothing about the union-busters in arms, 'eh?
Nothing about the union-busters in arms, 'eh?
At one point, the president’s men pose a fashion question on his behalf: Just what should the president wear to go riding with the queen?
The answer: Something smart, but casual....
The papers show that top Reagan adviser Michael Deaver had a way of annoying his British counterparts with last-minute changes and requests, and also surprised them with some of his objectives. Deaver, remembered as a shrewd image-builder, said he wanted Reagan to be photographed outside of formal venues, so he wouldn’t be seen ‘‘exclusively in white tie’’ at palace functions, even suggesting that Reagan go to a village pub to soak up the atmosphere.
Damn Yanks.
Damn Yanks.
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Speaking of old dead things:
"King Richard III, for centuries the most reviled of English monarchs, a man with a strong sympathy for the rights of the common man who was deeply wronged by his vengeful Tudor and Elizabethan successors."
Maybe it will be the same for her centuries now, and we will get the appropriate services rather than elite farewells.
Related:
Scientists to reveal result of Richard III hunt
Richard III’s bones leave twisted legacy
English cities vie for Richard III’s bones
Speaking of old dead things:
"King Richard III, for centuries the most reviled of English monarchs, a man with a strong sympathy for the rights of the common man who was deeply wronged by his vengeful Tudor and Elizabethan successors."
Maybe it will be the same for her centuries now, and we will get the appropriate services rather than elite farewells.
Related:
Scientists to reveal result of Richard III hunt
Richard III’s bones leave twisted legacy
English cities vie for Richard III’s bones
Speaking of old bones:
Queen hospitalized over stomach illness
UK reconsiders royal succession law
In a first, queen’s holiday message is in 3D
Queen hospitalized over stomach illness
UK reconsiders royal succession law
In a first, queen’s holiday message is in 3D
Time for some new blood:
"Charges possible in royal prank call case
"Charges possible in royal prank call case
LONDON — Prosecutors are considering pressing charges over a hoax call that preceded a nurse’s apparent suicide, police said. Two Australian DJs impersonated Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Charles, as they phoned a hospital to ask about the Duchess of Cambridge, who went there suffering from morning sickness. Nurse Jacintha Saldanha, 46, put them through to a colleague who gave details on the duchess’s condition. Saldanha’s body was found three days later."
What other old English things can I bundle up here?
London’s pioneering Tube system turns 150
Church of England says no to female bishops
Swaziland gets first female Anglican bishop
London’s pioneering Tube system turns 150
Church of England says no to female bishops
Swaziland gets first female Anglican bishop
South Africa’s Dlamini-Zuma is first female chief of African Union
After vote against women bishops, church facing crisis
Division growing over women bishops in England
"Rowan Williams, the 104th archbishop of Canterbury, has been praised for engaging with church critics and atheists, but he has met with opposition over his opinions on controversial issues including the war in Iraq and sharia law."
And he's being replaced by an oil executive?
After vote against women bishops, church facing crisis
Division growing over women bishops in England
"Rowan Williams, the 104th archbishop of Canterbury, has been praised for engaging with church critics and atheists, but he has met with opposition over his opinions on controversial issues including the war in Iraq and sharia law."
And he's being replaced by an oil executive?
