The Miners' Strike 1984: The Battle for Britain

[skwdenyer]

hidetheelephants said:

The problem with that data is it includes time outside her premiership; the UK tax burden didn't really start to fall much until 84/85.

A pretty consistent drop.

You can see the issues with taxation. Constant erosion of the tax base by the Conservatives; consistent attempts to rebalance things by Labour.

As the OBR data above made clear, by 1995 we were over 10 points off our peers (meaning their take was well over 50% greater than ours) yet we maintained the lunatic fallacy that we could have the same level and quality of public services.

If only we’d had sane tax policies earlier…

[hidetheelephants]

Like I said, it doesn't really start dropping until the middle of the decade.

[skwdenyer]

hidetheelephants said:

Like I said, it doesn't really start dropping until the middle of the decade.

That graph seems to show it dropping from 1982 onwards. Still not sure what point you’re trying to make. Thatcher set in train a policy of substantial and ultimately unsustainable cuts to overall taxation. The major beneficiaries of that policy have not been the ordinary citizens of the UK.

[hidetheelephants]

It rises sharply in 1979 to a peak about 1981, drops slightly to a plateau until a further slight peak in 1985 before dropping steadily. Thatcher didn't start meaningfully cutting the tax burden until 1985.

[coppice]

Whatever the numbers, wherever you stand on the political spectrum, the simple fact is that the enduring legacy of the whole shameful episode is that the collateral damage of the Scargill/Thatcher war wasn't just the end of a filthy and dangerous industry whose passing few will care about but also whole communities .Almost anyone who grew up in a mining village , as I did, still mourns the eradication of tight knit communities of wonderful people .

[tele_lover]

skwdenyer said:

hidetheelephants said:

The problem with that data is it includes time outside her premiership; the UK tax burden didn't really start to fall much until 84/85.

A pretty consistent drop.

You can see the issues with taxation. Constant erosion of the tax base by the Conservatives; consistent attempts to rebalance things by Labour.

As the OBR data above made clear, by 1995 we were over 10 points off our peers (meaning their take was well over 50% greater than ours) yet we maintained the lunatic fallacy that we could have the same level and quality of public services.

If only we’d had sane tax policies earlier…

If our tax take was so low, why did 1997 Labour Government invite every ****-poor person from the third world to live here?

Edited by tele_lover on Sunday 14th July 07:29

[Megaflow]

hidetheelephants said:

Like I said, it doesn't really start dropping until the middle of the decade.

With the benefit of hindsight, that drop was probably not the smartest decision we have ever made as a country.

[DodgyGeezer]

coppice said:

Whatever the numbers, wherever you stand on the political spectrum, the simple fact is that the enduring legacy of the whole shameful episode is that the collateral damage of the Scargill/Thatcher war wasn't just the end of a filthy and dangerous industry whose passing few will care about but also whole communities .Almost anyone who grew up in a mining village , as I did, still mourns the eradication of tight knit communities of wonderful people .

Maggie was right to close the mines (and crush that scumbag Scargill) where she was horribly wrong was in not providing some sort of alternative 'industry'/retraining for those areas affected - it's all well and good saying 'get on your bike', and to a degree that is fair enough, but it's never that easy

[skwdenyer]

tele_lover said:

If our tax take was so low, why did 1997 Labour Government invite every ****-poor person from the third world to live here?

Edited by tele_lover on Sunday 14th July 07:29

The “primary purpose” rule was relaxed in 1997; that allowed spouses of immigrants to come in.

Because our tax take was so low, and because the population had been conditioned to believe this was normal and reasonable, the only way to shift the needle and pay for (and staff!) health and social care was to expand the size of the economy - that meant immigration.

Whether the balance was right or not, that huge hole in the public finances we can see in the data was a disaster that needed addressing: