I've been resisting joining in on this one, but...
When Margaret Thatcher became PM there were 4 major problems in the UK which had been festering for many years: 1. perpetual strikes and trade union power, 2. Northern Ireland, 3. the terms for the UK in the European Economic Community and 4. high annual inflation. Soon after becoming PM, the problem of Argentina and its attempt to claim the Falkland Islands was added to this list. By standing resolute and acting as a true leader, all these major problems were eventually resolved and she braved great personal danger by so doing (remember the Brighton bomb?). MT was also pivotal in the thawing of the Cold War.
Ultimately, the UK was in the best shape it had ever been when John Major was PM (he'd also been a Chancellor under Thatcher) and if the Tories had remained in power, the UK today would be a far better place than it is now. Unfortunately, he was lampooned as being a "grey man" because he lacked charisma and Tony B liar posing as "Bambi" seemed more interesting to many voters who were beginning to embrace the "celebrity culture". When Labour were elected, the architect of "new" labour, Peter Mandelson said: "I'm incredibly relaxed about people getting filthy rich" (obviously meaning himself and Blair) and Gordon Clown became Chancellor. Brown wasn't content to simply manage the UK on the receipts from taxation, instead he instantly made a "windfall tax" on the pension funds (which has f**ked up pensions ever since), sold of our gold reserves when gold was at a low in the market and also benefitted from a £20bn windfall from licensing the 3G mobile phone system. He blew the lot!
It's 23 years since Margaret Thatcher was PM and we've had 13 years of labour government in the interim, so I fail to see the logic of anyone who claims that she's responsible for the ills that exist today.
With specific regard to the demise of the UK mining industry: the "dark satanic mills" were already in decline in the 1940s onwards and Fred Dibnah demolished most of their chimneys. Many towns in the North were declared "Smokeless Zones" in the 1950s as central heating started to appear and steam engines were being replaced by diesel engines on the railways in the 1960s. So the writing was on the wall for mining for decades before MT became PM. Scargill was just an activist using the miners to further his own political agenda. If he'd had a shred of interest in the welfare of the miners he would've worked with the government to ensure that mine closures were traded for replacement jobs in modern industries set up in their location.
I'm sure that if Margaret Thatcher were PM today, she'd make sure that all the bankers who'd caused our economic collapse were properly punished, unlike this lot who won't say boo to a goose! Shame there's nobody like her now.
