Thatcherism 40 years On.

[mongers]

This week sees the 40th anniversary of Mrs Thatchers May 1979 election win.

So what do you think,  has it meant wins across the board, been a poison chalice or a curate's egg?

[Monoriu]

That the opposition party essentially adopted most of it speaks volumes about the benefits. 

[Eddie Teach]

It's definitely been a curate's egg, whatever that is.

[Admiral Yi]

It's definitely been a curate's egg, whatever that is.

+1

[Oexmelin]

That the opposition party essentially adopted most of it speaks volumes about the benefits.

For whom?

[Monoriu]

That the opposition party essentially adopted most of it speaks volumes about the benefits.

For whom?

For the country. 

[Duque de Bragança]

I am waiting for Tyr's elaborate answer.

[Grinning_Colossus]

Poison chalice leading to the financialization of the economy, the atomization of society, and the immiseration of the Britons.

[Richard Hakluyt]

There are some nice restaurants now.

It reminds me of the story of Esau; we have lost so much for our bowl of pottage.

[Razgovory]

That the opposition party essentially adopted most of it speaks volumes about the benefits.

For whom?

Tamas.

[Tamas]

The UK was the 5th biggest economy until the referendum and despite what people with their heads still up the Empire's arse might think that doesn't come as default to any country.

What she seems to be blamed for, ie de-industrialisation and the decline of no-skill jobs has happened everywhere around the world, so thinking that without her things would be like the 60s just with today's standards of living is silly.

Now I don't know if she could had handled the disadvantaged regions better. But to me it seems quite clear she left a stronger Britain than what she took over.

[mongers]

It's definitely been a curate's egg, whatever that is.

+1

Odd, first google result says "A curate's egg is an idiom that is not well-known outside of Britain." 

I'd wrongly assumed most Americans would have heard of it.   

[Grinning_Colossus]

For those not in the know:

A curate is an Anglican priest, and the egg is a golden egg--normally the most valuable item in an English village. Curates would hide their eggs where no one could find them, but if someone ever did find them then he would become the new priest and the curate would become the village dungmaker, living with the sows. Hence, a curate's egg is something transformative and valuable.

[crazy canuck]

So an apt analogy for Thatcher's legacy.  Obviously transformative but not beneficial for all involved.

[Tamas]

So an apt analogy for Thatcher's legacy.  Obviously transformative but not beneficial for all involved.

How is the English North different from the fate of the US regions which relied on industry that stopped being feasible to maintain there? I don't know the details so I am not saying everything was handled well but once again, it always seemed to me like what Thatcher got blamed for was accepting global realities and tapping into them instead of tilting at them like if they were windmills.