Margaret Thatcher would be the first person to admit that she didn’t get everything right, however during her time in power I was a Royal Marine.
I spent most of my years with her in charge. We looked up to her. She did a better job than most men would have done, and took hard decisions which she knew would make her unpopular.
Lesser politicians would have shied away from making those decisions. With regards to the miners and Arthur Scargill, they had to be broken.
The mines were public property and running at a loss. Cheaper coal from abroad was the sensible way forward. The mines were a closed shop - no-one outside the various communities could get a job. No-one cheered louder than I when their strike collapsed. It was a victory for common sense.
These people expected a job for life, even when it was a loss-making business. Those that continued as independent mines soon went to the wall because of competition.
Unions expect to keep their members’ jobs, even if the firms in question are losing money.
So let’s now turn our attention to the teachers: let’s break their resolve, along with all the other public workers who think they should have a job for life, and get their relations employed just because they can.
Those that can exploit the system to their advantage, do. The rest of us must work for a living.
PAUL MUSSON
via email