Thatcher told to abandon Liverpool in 1981

[The Larch]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-merseyside-16355281

Toxteth riots: Howe proposed 'managed decline' for city

Margaret Thatcher was urged to abandon Liverpool to "managed decline" by her chancellor, newly-released National Archives files have revealed.

Wow. Just wow.

[Syt]

Considering their accent, can you blame him?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OHfIAoF8gEc

[Josquius]

There's going to be some interesting stuff coming out over the next few years...combined with the way the economy is going hopefully that will put an end to the strange folk who like her lot.

That being said though it would have been nice if she'd listened a little. Amusing to read of them actually talking of giving money to the north east, albeit only in a "Even THAT would be better" sort of way.

Considering their accent, can you blame him?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OHfIAoF8gEc

I dunno, some scouse is alright, but other scouse- like the bald guy at the end, with all the flem, is just horrific.

[Razgovory]

Why wow?  Not English, so I guess I don't get the context.

[Caliga]

Well, in that guy's defense, Liverpool IS a really stupid name for a city.  It sounds like it was named for some British culinary 'delicacy' or something.  Maybe the runner-up choice name for the city was Kidneymush.

[Sheilbh]

There's going to be some interesting stuff coming out over the next few years...combined with the way the economy is going hopefully that will put an end to the strange folk who like her lot.

This release makes her generally look pretty good.  The bad stuff'll come when she's at the Mad Thatch stage, so in about 10 years.

[Richard Hakluyt]

It is one of the great themes of British politics, how much money should be transferred from the south to the regions in order to make economic decline less painful?

I guess I'm glad that we didn't start doing this till the 20th century, If we had started in 1800 then we would probably still have several hundred thousand handloom weavers 

[Richard Hakluyt]

Incidentally, this sort of policy was put into effect in county Durham during the period 1951-1977. Durham had many small mining villages, when the mines closed these villages no longer had any economic purpose. The county plan placed these villages in various categories, some were to be supported, given industrial estates better roads etc. The Category D villages, over a hundred of them, were to recieve no support and be demolished.

[Josquius]

Yep. I remember from my childhood one particular strange area with two houses that looked like they were formerly from a terrace just in the middle of a naff brown field by themselves with another small, almost complete street not too far away. Apparently 'twere once a town....
Pretty sure this was a 80s development though.
And they did a pretty crap job with those they did decide to save.

[Ideologue]

"Managed decline" sounds better than the alternative. : /

[Sheilbh]

It's basically what Liverpool got

[Capetan Mihali]

"Managed decline" sounds better than the alternative. : /

The Bronx got "planned shrinkage" in the mid-70s.  Mainly consisted of allowing landlords to hire arsonists to burn down their apartment buildings.

[Valmy]

There's going to be some interesting stuff coming out over the next few years...combined with the way the economy is going hopefully that will put an end to the strange folk who like her lot.

So you think she should have abandoned Liverpool?

[Ed Anger]

She should have liquidated the geordies.

[Neil]

There's going to be some interesting stuff coming out over the next few years...combined with the way the economy is going hopefully that will put an end to the strange folk who like her lot.

So you think she should have abandoned Liverpool?

Of course he does.  Liverpool's industries were shipbuilding and transportation.  The only thing Jos loves is coal.

Just think how many shithole coal pits they could have kept open with the money they would have gained from selling off the population of Liverpool for soup stock.