Those Brits sure love their Thatcher

Actually my attitude to Mrs Thatcher has become more ambivalent of late - I used to *absolutely despise* her and all she stood for, now the loathing is tempered by the passing of time since "her" decade and by the knowledge that I am one of "Thatcher's children" in that, despite what I may have previously claimed, I am far more individualist and less collectivist than anyone I've ever met who grew up in the 50s / 60s, and that I exploit new freedoms opened to me by the free-market changes she brought about, and would find it hard to fit in this country were it to somehow return to the more insular and tightly-regulated Britain of the pre-Thatcher years.

The most important factor in changing Britain is *not* whether we have a Tory or Labour government at any given time, but whether we have a government that reveres tradition and history or a radical government that tears consensus down. The Thatcher government was the latter while posing as the former so as not to alienate the heartland Tories who'd put it where it was, and in doing so completely undermined the party's fundamental cultural base to render itself unelectable, replaced by a Labour government which had similarly jettisoned its own traditions in favour of a free-market consumerist ethos. And there's something wonderfully enjoyable about exploiting freedoms that the Tories introduced, while knowing full well that traditional Tories would hate me for using them, and that the socio-cultural aftereffects of those freedoms are the very reason why Guildford, Winchester and South Dorset are no longer Tory seats.

The current situation with the Unions is interesting. I think they see a chance for one last stand against a government which has sought to shackle them as effectively as the Tories did. Could be trouble on the way for Tone.

I won't contest the inflation figures (though, if memory serves, it was coming down in 78-79), but are you *sure* unemployment was lower in '97 than in '79? Those "Labour Isn't Working" Saatchi ads in the winter of '78 were provoked by the (shock, horror) dole figures reaching 1 million; within three years the Tories had tripled that. Yes, it had been steadily falling since the early 90s (?), but I'm not sure it was down to Callaghan levels when Major lost the election.

I believe this is what they call killing two birds with one stone.

I believe this is what they call killing two birds with one stone.

Who's the other bird, Geri Halliwell?

Actually you can scratch some of what I said upthread because my rage at Blair's description of anyone who opposes the involvement of the private sector in public services as "small-c conservative" reminds me of the extent to which the worst excesses of Thatcherite economic theories have poisoned political debate in this country and shifted it all to the right, and of course there are all the malign factors Gareth mentions. But the "freedoms" I had in mind were those brought about by media deregulation, easier access to music and culture from all origins, crumbling of the "island race" mentality etc., and while of course a lot of this is global and related to technological changes that are beyond political control, I do get the feeling that a more statist and less deregulatory government might have made it harder to access these things and tried harder to batten down the hatches and enforce national boundaries. We're back to the paradox again ... a nasty, petty, small-minded little Englander like Mrs T actually strengthening the collapse of that mindset, mainly because her economic theories were more 19th-century Liberal than 1950s Tory. *This* is the thing that fascinates me about her from an ambivalent perspective: I still hate her effects in terms of social polarisation, creation of the "permanent underclass", wreckage of public services etc. as passionately as I always did.

forget where i read it, but anyway, a transcription of a TV debate between roy hattersley and enoch powell
powell says something breath-takingly reactionary.
"oh come on, enoch, we're not still living in the 19th century!!"
"Oh yessss," hisses Powell, the brummy gollum, "but we aaaaaaare!!"

OK, well now we aren't. Now we're living in 1909.

[consults book....]

NOTHING HAPPENED IN 1909.

this is bush. really: administrating *what*? already you're confronted with the need to theorize what a government *does*. obviously thatcher cleaved to liberal economic orthodoxy, but in terms of character she was far closer to disraeli's popular jingoistic toryism. not that the analogy really works because no victorian politician would have contemplated the level of public spending (and taxation) that has been the norm since ww1.

according to the thing about drinking politicians on bbc4 last night, thatch can put 'em away with the best of them...

My god I want to schtup the chick playing Thatcher on C4 right now.

*BBC4

http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/multimedia/archive/00345/culture-andrea385_345570a.jpg

in character? it would be some sort of ultimate hatefuck

MAYBE THEY COULD USE THE STATUE AS A GIANT ANT
-- Mike Hanle y, Sunday, February 3, 2002 8:00 PM (6 years ago) Bookmark Link

LOL as always.

: /

My god I want to schtup the chick playing Thatcher on C4 right now.

-- The stickman from the hilarious "xkcd" comics

in character? it would be some sort of ultimate hatefuck

-- Just got offed

I knew I shouldn't have clicked on this thread.

So, was this produced by The Comic Strip as a follow-up to "Strike" and "GLC"?

It Sure Looks Like It.

(did not watch. I mean! ComeOn!

So, was this produced by The Comic Strip as a follow-up to "Strike" and "GLC"

eh? really?! i'm amazed anyone can even remember 'GLC'.

What is it with the BBC? Is this the best their drama department can come up with these days? Hughie Green, Bob Monkhouse, Mary Whitehouse, Margaret Thatcher. Lazy television.

But cheap.

And it gets them a guaranteed two page spread in the broadsheet "extra" sections for each episode

What is it with the BBC? Is this the best their drama department can come up with these days? Hughie Green, Bob Monkhouse, Mary Whitehouse, Margaret Thatcher. Lazy television.

it's not lazy television, it's just that you're getting old. The BBC have always made dramas about the lives of people in the past, it's just now the people of the past are people who were very much part of our present.

I don't agree, this smacks of chucking a couple of biographies at a writer and saying "Go away and write something on this person who was famous once, but don't worry too much about it, any old bollocks will do as long as you manage to shoehorn some sex into it." It's commissioned crap from writers who obv. don't have any interest in the subject.

Unless there are many young and talented writers out there with a burning desire to write about Hughie Green's sexlife, who knows?

Tom OTM, five years ago it was all "lol let's do a comedy drama about something that happened in Parliament 6 months ago" now it's all "lol 50s and 60s nostalgia be mad popular".

you can avoid worrying about this by getting rid of yer telly.

I only use it for films, sport, Doctor Who and University Challenge.

But you're not seriously doing the "people who complain about one aspect of a medium should never engage with any aspect of that medium" switcheroonie are you Pash?

Bit drastic Pash

Also I would also like to use it for well-written original one-off drama but unfortunately the BBC is run by cocks.

Apparently at one time this stuff was well popular but it doesn't fit so well around BBC3's RITALIN NEWS MINUTE, ALL EPILEPSY ALL THE TIME

jim i think that's a slightly different face

oh i was hoping you would answer, or at least just include reasoning behind why it's definitely much worse. not saying it isn't, just want this to be clearer.

is it not clear enough?!

that depends on whether the paragraph after that was the 'correct answer'

Thatcher worse than Moyles but that's not really saying much in Moyles' defence.

clear as glass, surrounded by hot air

Sorry, what am I doing? I appear to have got involved in a debate on the internet about which racist is worse than the other.

Jon Snow used to call a colleague 'Gunga Din'

FFS, Clarkson/Snow/etc., stop apologising/repenting. Anne Boleyn was guillotined, deal with it.

Sorry, what am I doing? I appear to have got involved in a debate on the internet about which racist is worse than the other.

― Holy Suffering Gobi Desert Clit Nun (Matt DC), Friday, 6 February 2009 15:33 (5 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

poll

Lord Foulkes "It is an absolute outrage of the worst kind. Disabled people will be up in arms about it, Scottish people will be angry – and it should concern all of us that the prime minister has been accused of lying."

ah see i was with him until that final bit (hey dude remember that little bit of trouble in Iraq a few years back?)

Didn't Clarkson have a go at someone who accused him of cottaging or something? Can dish it it out, can't...etc. Also the man is an outrageous liar.

Proved by science.

I think the One Show should replace Adrain Chiles with Hardeep Singh Kohli, coz he's a much nicer bloke.

nah he's annoying

racist

twice in one day?? what are the chances

I used to like HSK in that sitcom based in Glasgow(?) but when he was on celebrity apprentice (i think it was) he was tremendously annoying.

xp
Obviously this apology is completely meaningless. He meant precisely what he said. His fans will know that he apologised with a twinkle in his eye, and probably agree with him anyway, he gets a shitload of publicity for his crappy tv programme and the bbc ratings go up. Everyone wins.

Also a bit of Rachman...
http://www.theherald.co.uk/news/news/display.var.2320099.0.Comedian_Singh_Kohlis_rented_Glasgow_flats_grubby_and_dirty.php

The Hardeep geezer is, indeed, annoying. He is not totally without wit, but his superior tone is bad.

apparently The One Show had it's second best ever ratings yesterday

I like that programme where he patronises kids. That's about his level.

Singh that is not Chiles.

Adrian Chiles is just awful, I hate his miserabilist everyman act.

According to insiders, Thatcher – who won ITV1 reality series I'm a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here! in 2005 – was chatting with The One Show host Adrian Chiles and guest Jo Brand about the Australian Open when she described an unnamed player as a "golliwog".

It is thought she was referring to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France, who went out of the competition in the quarter finals.

Apparently it has not been mentioned here, but it is now (in many quarters) believed she was actually talking about Gael Monfils of France, who went out of the competition in the 8th finals. No less a stupid & offensive thing to say obv, if this is the case, but a bit more ahem "understandable" in the "but Ronaldinho HAS large teeth" vein.

Um, those dolls at Sandringham looked like..
http://images.theage.com.au/ftage/ffximage/2008/06/05/zzMonfils_narrowweb__300x422,0.jpg

...?

..right?

Adrian Chiles is one of the few TV presenters I would happily leave my children with for the day. If I had children, that is.

myleene Klass? Although she seems quite busy...

i'd leave my kids with her alright.

What does that even mean?

NotEnough knowledge of vulgar slang, morelike

Um, those dolls at Sandringham looked like..
...?
..right?

Awp. Should probably not have said anything but.... what first took me aback with CT's original remark (APART FROM THE OBV)

oops tab enter

Awp. Should probably not have said anything but.... what first took me aback with CT's original remark (APART FROM THE OBV) was that apart from CT not yet having entered the post-colonial age apparently -- -- -- Tsonga? Wtf. It seems way unlikely. Dude is a BLOCK of a man, not at all ragdolly! Gael Force at least has spiky comicbook hair. Hence I found that story more credible.

Sprinter Dwain Chambers is to make a formal complaint to the BBC after he was the victim of an abusive prank call by the comedian Iain Lee during a phone-in on Radio 5 Live. Lee, who appears regularly on BBC1's One Show, rang a phone-in hosted by Victoria Derbyshire on Monday and, posing as a member of the public called 'Tony', accused Chambers, who served a two-year ban for taking performance-enhancing drugs, of being "whacked up to the eyeballs on goof balls".

Encouraged by Derbyshire to air his strident views, 'Tony' then subjected the sprinter to a vitriolic rant, referring to the "goof balls and whack balls" he put into his bloodstream and finishing with the statement: "I'm going to buy your book and I'm going to burn your book without reading it."

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/othersports/athletics/4582698/Dwain-Chambers-demands-BBC-apology-over-prank-call.html

I do wonder on whose side the Daily Mail crew will be on that last one. Will they be able to pass up another chance to have a go at the Beeb's lax standards, or will they want to go for the throat of a notorious drug cheat who possesses the wrong colour of skin for their tastes?

That's what you'd call a real ethical dilemma for them. It would almost be entertaining to watch them wrestle with it.

fucking hell iain lee is a massive prick and really needs to bury himself alive out of shame.
why this prickhole is on the one show i dont know.

GHOSTBUSTERS 2 LOL

yeah, iain lee is a dude who doesn't really need to exist

Never mind that the tactics they used to destroy The One Show’s reporter Carol Thatcher were reminiscent of the old East German Stasi, under whose rule people who refused to do and say what they were told were destroyed.

Brilliance, just absolute brilliance.

marcello has a column in a tabloid now?

An administrative blunder under the Thatcher government that has only just come to light has opened the door for retailers to sell unauthorised DVDs and video games, including banned films and pornography, to anyone, including under-age children without legal threat.

The Crown Prosecution Service has been told to drop cases relating to offences under the Video Recordings Act, which imposes statutory requirements for videos, DVDs and some video games to be classified and age-rated by the British Board of Film Classification.

The Conservative government’s apparent failure to notify the European Union of the existence of the VRA in 1984 means that the legislation is no longer enforceable in the UK.

UK now officially better than US

shit I'd better get a shopping list together for you guys

it's there already, it just has big fuck-off circles covering everything, or so i'm led to believe.

We already have a perfectly workable system in place whereby 7 year-olds just tell their parents to buy GTA for them in Gamestation.

and wait ouside, smoking a fag

Oh dear:

"This must be a massive embarrassment to the Tories, especially as David Cameron was the special adviser to the home secretary in 1993 when the law was amended."

Wow, can't wait to hit Dixons or Woolworths and stock up on some banned VHS tapes now.

"This must be a massive embarrassment to the Tories, especially as David Cameron was the special adviser to the home secretary in 1993 when the law was amended."

Yeah right. Because Cameron has shown real signs of being electorally hindered by everything the Tories did in the 80s and 90s.

Still not dead?