Oh happy day. Thirty years ago today, the Callaghan government fell and the ascent of Thatcherism took off! The BBC covered it this morning but what struck me was that the reflections from that momentous time were largely provided by the likes of David Steele and Roy Hattersley. There was a noticeable absence of opinion from those at the centre of the Thatcher revolution itself – don’t the BBC have Lord Tebbit’s phone number? Perhaps the BBC still has trouble accepting what happened back then?
IT WAS THIRTY YEAR AGO TODAY
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The BBC truly believe that if Labour had not lost the 1979 election then the UK would have been a paradise long ago. The BBC believe that the UK’s economic problems have their direct roots in the Thatcherite economic revolution and that all of society’s ills can be blamed at the feet of the “heartless Tories”.
NotaSheep: What the BBC thinks is had it and Nu liebour been running the show for the last 30 years, the BBC would be the Europeans main state broadcaster (getting even more money that it does already off the EU) the TV tax would be double what it already is. Sky wouldn’t exist and the internet would be totally controlled by the state and the BBC.
We were the laughing stock of the world in the 60’s and 70’s with industrial unrest, weak governments, huge debt and poor productivity.
To be fair it’s nice to see it all coming back again under Labour.
I grew up in South Africa where thousands of British fled to escape 90 percent tax,and now the difference is now are all going to Australia + New Zealand
Tebbit’s opinions are soon heard when he disagrees with Cameron (45p/IHT)
BBC Parliament is covering Sunny Jim’s downfall in detail today.
The BBC does indeed have Lord Tebbit’s phone number. Didn’t you hear him in the 0810 slot on the Today programme, on the 25th anniversary of the start of the miners’ strike recently?
I would also point out that Lady Thatcher does not give interviews, and of her closest comrades from that era, Keith Joseph and Willie Whitelaw, are dead. Otherwise I’m sure the Beeb would have loved to have them on.
BJ you cannot be serious. There are plenty of Conservatives who were around at the time that could have been invited on the show. The whole item was treated rather like the Palestinian ‘nakbah’ – a catastrophe – the start of 17 years of Tory rule. Cue wailing and gnashing of teeth and wistful asides about what might have been if only Callaghan had gone to the country the previous autumn …
Tebbitt got sozzled last night with the boys down Whites – even pensioners celebrate for those who can’t make the regiment’s reunion.
Could be nonsense but a jolly nice thought.
“Perhaps the BBC still has trouble accepting what happened back then?”
And is about to happen all over again. No Champagne corks popping this time around.