MAGGIE THATCHER

Im not one for politics, and was too young to remember her being in government, but I do know that most welshmen of my old mans generation absolutly deteste this woman.

However, was closing the mines such a bad thing?

How many of us seriously would want to work down a pit? Awful conditions and very hard labour.

I certainly wouldnt, but I am an account manager, and not really into heavy labour anyway, but even those who work in manual labour, would you have taken a job down the pit?

Im not one for politics, and was too young to remember her being in government, but I do know that most welshmen of my old mans generation absolutly deteste this woman.

However, was closing the mines such a bad thing?

How many of us seriously would want to work down a pit? Awful conditions and very hard labour.

I certainly wouldnt, but I am an account manager, and not really into heavy labour anyway, but even those who work in manual labour, would you have taken a job down the pit?

the mines were the death of my father and i suspect a lot of the older people on here's dads.
reality was it cost more to mine a tonne of coal than you could sell it for plus the millions it needed to bring the mines up to modern health and safety conditions.

The fact of the matter is that if the mines were really profitable then why haven't they been reopen by private companies..? The few which have either had miners passing away recently or gone bust.

Sad but true

The nationalists were on jason mohammed show the other day debating independance.

When asked how wales could sustain itself they wanted to re-open mines.

Barking f*cking mad.

Good show. ive been waiting to hear you on there.

Old guy phoned the other day when they were debating gun crime and said he tried to buy a gun to kill his neighbour who had been harassing him. JM was stumped for once.

Good show. ive been waiting to hear you on there.

Old guy phoned the other day when they were debating gun crime and said he tried to buy a gun to kill his neighbour who had been harassing him. JM was stumped for once.

You can tell the vast majority of callers are not working for a reason

He said he couldnt get a gun so went around his neighbours with a knife.

JM: Why did it come to that. why didnt you just call the police?

My neighbour called them. i was arrested.

JM: No, instead of getting a gun, or a knife, why didnt you
call the police becausr he was harrasing you?

Oh i didnt think of that. i see what you mean.

threw tomatoes and eggs at her outside city hall 83/84 then off down the city.dont get many days out like that!

threw tomatoes and eggs at her outside city hall 83/84 then off down the city.dont get many days out like that!

Your an account manager fair play why would you want to work in the mine. Ask the same question to the youngsters who can't find work or the 40 yr old who's been years looking for work, or the worker in a two bit factory working for minimum wage and putting their hand up to take a piss . Everyone I know who worked in the pits absolutely loved it and are proud to this day. As for that c unt thatcher I hope she suffers the evil witch and my old man is here to see her die.

She had bigger balls then any of the "male" primeministers before or since.

A working class girl made good, hard but fair. Pisses a lot of folk off I know but having lived and worked through that era not liking her at all the older I get the more I do actually admire her.

My Grancha worked down the mines for many many years it eventually caught up with him in the end. But my nan who was one of the proudest Welsh women you will ever find detested those mines and she was Adament that none of her kids would ever work down no bloody mine.
My Grancha walked from The Valleys to Bristol in the 30s to find work then moved the whole family there. My Grancha never had a bad word to say about those mines up to the day he died I think it's more to do with the comradie than the job but our nan to the day she died still detested them. As I said they were the proudest welsh people I ever knew, welsh speaking and proud of there Wesh heratage to the end but they just would not allow there kids down the mine.

Your an account manager fair play why would you want to work in the mine. Ask the same question to the youngsters who can't find work or the 40 yr old who's been years looking for work, or the worker in a two bit factory working for minimum wage and putting their hand up to take a piss . Everyone I know who worked in the pits absolutely loved it and are proud to this day. As for that c unt thatcher I hope she suffers the evil witch and my old man is here to see her die.

i here what you are saying but do you think todays generation have the work ethic to take a job down the mine?

im not so sure

Im not one for politics, and was too young to remember her being in government, but I do know that most welshmen of my old mans generation absolutly deteste this woman.

However, was closing the mines such a bad thing?

How many of us seriously would want to work down a pit? Awful conditions and very hard labour.

I certainly wouldnt, but I am an account manager, and not really into heavy labour anyway, but even those who work in manual labour, would you have taken a job down the pit?

the mines were the death of my father and i suspect a lot of the older people on here's dads.
reality was it cost more to mine a tonne of coal than you could sell it for plus the millions it needed to bring the mines up to modern health and safety conditions.

Reality was not so. Even then, the UK coal industry was one of the most efficient in the world. However, it could not compete price wise with the likes of Polish and Australian (FFS!) imports because each of those countries subsidised their coal industries so highly. Thatcher refused to subsidise the UK efforts,,,,,,,so it was cheaper for UK and Europe to bring coal from the other side of the world!

HOWEVER.....if it was as simple as that, setting out the economic argument, then it could have been argued out that it would have been more cost effective to offer short term subsidies and protect the infrasrtucture of the mines. Maybe.

BUT she accepted the chance to desimate the communities of South Wales and Scotland with genuine glee! With vindictive spite, she set out to rip away what the working man coverted (at the time).....self respect and hope. She stole the heart of whole communities and cared less.

Yes, most miners are glad their sons are no longer required to go underground. Of course they are. BUT, they will NEVER, their families will NEVER, their communities will NEVER and I will NEVER forgive the horrible witch for the pain she caused and laughed at!!

One day, I WILL dance on her grave. And I can't wait !!!

Worked 18 years underground on the coal face, best years of my life. The whole mining industry built communities and held them together, yes it was dangerous and hard but loved it.
Thatcher came along and through lack of investment, made pits uneconomical and closed them down.

Thatcher killed our country and i'm afraid to say, it is now "dog eat dog" you will never see comaradery and communities like that ever again, and dont want to be a killjoy, but it is going to get a lot worse.

Lets talk again in 20 years or so, and Britain will become a no go zone in the majority of towns and cities up and down the country.

Thank f*cking Thatcher for that.

Worked 18 years underground on the coal face, best years of my life. The whole mining industry built communities and held them together, yes it was dangerous and hard but loved it.
Thatcher came along and through lack of investment, made pits uneconomical and closed them down.

Thatcher killed our country and i'm afraid to say, it is now "dog eat dog" you will never see comaradery and communities like that ever again, and dont want to be a killjoy, but it is going to get a lot worse.

Lets talk again in 20 years or so, and Britain will become a no go zone in the majority of towns and cities up and down the country.

Thank f*cking Thatcher for that.

spot on mate - she created an I'm alright jack society and it's been the same ever since.

General, a huge wage rised was put forward only because the miners over years were promised wage rises but never happened, so the wages fell way behing the national average. During the 1st & 2nd world wars, when miners worked their guts out in overtime to keep everything moving, those payments were not forthcoming as promised.
And, whilst we are on it, you could argue, that if it were not for the miners of this country which kept our ships moving forward into Hitlers army, many more of our forces would have been killed.

We need to remember, thatcher instigated the strike for own ends as she was a total control freak, and but for the miners standing up to her, she would have divided this country more than what she actually did before the british people found her out and voted her out.

No, apologies, you are right there she was not voted out by the great british people, she bottled it and resigned after her best mate Micheal Heseltine challenged her!

No, apologies, you are right there she was not voted out by the great british people, she bottled it and resigned after her best mate Micheal Heseltine challenged her!

Least she was voted in.

Unlike Gordon Brown who bottled it when asked to go to the polls.

Reality was not so. Even then, the UK coal industry was one of the most efficient in the world. However, it could not compete price wise with the likes of Polish and Australian (FFS!) imports because each of those countries subsidised their coal industries so highly. Thatcher refused to subsidise the UK efforts,,,,,,,so it was cheaper for UK and Europe to bring coal from the other side of the world!HOWEVER.....if it was as simple as that, setting out the economic argument, then it could have been argued out that it would have been more cost effective to offer short term subsidies and protect the infrasrtucture of the mines. Maybe.

BUT she accepted the chance to desimate the communities of South Wales and Scotland with genuine glee! With vindictive spite, she set out to rip away what the working man coverted (at the time).....self respect and hope. She stole the heart of whole communities and cared less.

Yes, most miners are glad their sons are no longer required to go underground. Of course they are. BUT, they will NEVER, their families will NEVER, their communities will NEVER and I will NEVER forgive the horrible witch for the pain she caused and laughed at!!

One day, I WILL dance on her grave. And I can't wait !!!

There you have it the reality in a nutshell

MG.......The intention was not to set out an economic argument one way or the other. I was trying to emphasise the pain she HAPPILY inflicted on our communities, out of spite. She loved the opportunity to stick it to the Taffs and Jocks, neither of which had more than a couple Tory seats. One day, hopefully soon............

Worked 18 years underground on the coal face, best years of my life. The whole mining industry built communities and held them together, yes it was dangerous and hard but loved it.
Thatcher came along and through lack of investment, made pits uneconomical and closed them down.

Thatcher killed our country and i'm afraid to say, it is now "dog eat dog" you will never see comaradery and communities like that ever again, and dont want to be a killjoy, but it is going to get a lot worse.

Lets talk again in 20 years or so, and Britain will become a no go zone in the majority of towns and cities up and down the country.

Thank f*cking Thatcher for that.

spot on mate - she created an I'm alright jack society and it's been the same ever since.

Surely when the unions were after figures like a 39% pay raise year and year then isn't that a tad hyporcritical..? Surely thats the 'alright jack' society within the unions themselves..?

with all due respects mate unless you spent time working in the mines how would you know whether a miner was not worthy of such a pay rise. I suggest your a bit hypocritical - don't you go to watch football matches played by men earning obscenely high wages for kicking a ball around the park

I see the point you are trying to make however the difference is that a football club is a private enterprise whereas the mines at the time were under the public sector. I will say it again if the mines were that profitable then why hasn't a private company reopened then all ? Fact is that they aren't profitable at all unfortunately

MG..... You are / were a public servant and so, almost by definition, bright enough. However, it is only O level economics to understand the following simple example.

UK ....actual overall cost per ton mined, say £100. Govt subsidy nil. Cost per ton £100.
Australia ......actual cost per ton mined.....£115. Govt subsidy...£25 per ton. Net cost per ton....£90.

Once a mine closed down, the cost of safety works to re-open in the future were to be so cost prohibitive, all knew they were gone forever, with their rich seams of high quality coal locked away for good. She knew she was pulling the rug from under our communities and stripping the people of hope.

Tower proved they could continue to mine profitabily. It's another thing asking private enterprise to incur the costs of re-opening a mine and making a profit. All the miners wanted back then was time and a level playing field!

Putting all this to one side, it staggers me that someone who has represented a valley community can see no fault in the heartless cow who broke the back of the very same community, leaving a legacy of little hope for many of the youth of the area.

As a say, one day................hopefully soon!

Worked 18 years underground on the coal face, best years of my life. The whole mining industry built communities and held them together, yes it was dangerous and hard but loved it.
Thatcher came along and through lack of investment, made pits uneconomical and closed them down.

Thatcher killed our country and i'm afraid to say, it is now "dog eat dog" you will never see comaradery and communities like that ever again, and dont want to be a killjoy, but it is going to get a lot worse.

Lets talk again in 20 years or so, and Britain will become a no go zone in the majority of towns and cities up and down the country.

Thank f*cking Thatcher for that.

spot on mate - she created an I'm alright jack society and it's been the same ever since.

Surely when the unions were after figures like a 39% pay raise year and year then isn't that a tad hyporcritical..? Surely thats the 'alright jack' society within the unions themselves..?

with all due respects mate unless you spent time working in the mines how would you know whether a miner was not worthy of such a pay rise. I suggest your a bit hypocritical - don't you go to watch football matches played by men earning obscenely high wages for kicking a ball around the park

I see the point you are trying to make however the difference is that a football club is a private enterprise whereas the mines at the time were under the public sector. I will say it again if the mines were that profitable then why hasn't a private company reopened then all ? Fact is that they aren't profitable at all unfortunately

because it would cost millions to reopen them safely, me old man spent 12 months safely closing Nantgarw Colliery down and removing machinery. Whats the difference if its private or public sector? everybody is entitled to a fair wage and that included the miners. They deserved every penny they got and deserved a lot more then the 39% you mooted (however 39% was just a bargaining position and if you remember those days you will know inflation was astronomical so high wage demands were the norm unlike today where our inflation levels are relatively smaller hence the reason for lower annual wage rises). How do I know? my dad worked 40+ years down there and there were times during his working life he was glad and fortunate to be a member of an union, particularly during times when he was injured down there and lost personal friends in coal face falls. My mother also worked 40+ years as a nurse now there's another bunch of employees shit up on by Margaret Thatcher and her ilk.

when you talk of the cost of coal ,lets add up the REAL figures.BRITISH KIDS KILLED IN AFGAN ETC to get oil because we havn,t got our own energy .lads who have joined the army because there is no work/hope in their towns.HEROIN and other drugs/booze which now riddles estates in ex mining areas.think of the amount of drug councillors/rehabs that are around now.they cost money.when the pits were open there was very little drug use on these estates.so when a pit was maybe slightly in the red it would have been wiser to keep it open when we consider the above costs from a financal/human point of view.the pit in my town was making money .one tonne a year.it was still closed.maggie said the mines were safe in her hands.that proves she was a grade 1 liar.why have a liar as an icon?

sorry one million tonne a year . one tonne.no wonder they shut it

Reality was not so. Even then, the UK coal industry was one of the most efficient in the world. However, it could not compete price wise with the likes of Polish and Australian (FFS!) imports because each of those countries subsidised their coal industries so highly. Thatcher refused to subsidise the UK efforts,,,,,,,so it was cheaper for UK and Europe to bring coal from the other side of the world!HOWEVER.....if it was as simple as that, setting out the economic argument, then it could have been argued out that it would have been more cost effective to offer short term subsidies and protect the infrasrtucture of the mines. Maybe.

BUT she accepted the chance to desimate the communities of South Wales and Scotland with genuine glee! With vindictive spite, she set out to rip away what the working man coverted (at the time).....self respect and hope. She stole the heart of whole communities and cared less.

Yes, most miners are glad their sons are no longer required to go underground. Of course they are. BUT, they will NEVER, their families will NEVER, their communities will NEVER and I will NEVER forgive the horrible witch for the pain she caused and laughed at!!

One day, I WILL dance on her grave. And I can't wait !!!

There you have it the reality in a nutshell

MG.......The intention was not to set out an economic argument one way or the other. I was trying to emphasise the pain she HAPPILY inflicted on our communities, out of spite. She loved the opportunity to stick it to the Taffs and Jocks, neither of which had more than a couple Tory seats. One day, hopefully soon............

You are spot on. Wales was a waste of time for the Tory party. No voters in Wales
so no need to worry about the Welsh. Thatcher also knew full well that with investment
and modernisation, the mines could have proved profitable. She chose to make
foreign countries richer rather than let the Trade Unions remain powerful in the UK.

Miners wanted a big pay rise. How dare they. How could Britain afford to pay them more
it wouldnt be fair on everyone else.

Oh hang on, the MPs during Thatchers reign recieved the equivalent of a 45% pay rise

The reason no private investment went into mines after she closed all down was because
she refused to help subsidise and modernise. She wanted them shut, end of.

Typical Tory two-faced c**t really.

Seeing as we are ALL subsidising the bankers when they fail

Yes Taffyapple u are correct any area which was staunch labour got no help. I remember talking to a old scouser and i mentioned her name. He went on a 20 min rant to me about her. He was a old docker. He told me at the end " she should be boiled alive in her own piss". As he walked off i laughed and laughed. All them MP,s the same send our brave boys off to wars they would not go themselves ,and when they misbehave like kick shit out of a few taliban, first to condemm them.

I hope that she stays around for years and years to come yet - as long as for every second of her remaining life she is inexcruciating pain. f*cking witch.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K-BZIWSI5UQ

Can't wait for the party when she finally croaks