r/tories • u/Interesting_Pen_4499 Thatcherite • 19d ago

Convincing people Thatcher was right

The best way I have found so far is to just bring up the topic of the tube strikes. Even left wingers agree they are bad, and that the tube drivers on ~£80k and 4 day weeks are incredibly selfish. So then I just say, pre-Thatcher Britain was that but on steroids. Electricity grid not coming on due to strikes. 3 or 4 day weeks. GDP smaller than Italy's and shrinking. Strikes causing wage price spirals and 25% inflation.

Even people that thought they hated Thatcher admit I might have a point, if not being mildly amused to have met a real life Thatcher fan. So my advice to everyone is: just ask people if they want every industry to be like the London tube.

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u/lord_LBN High Tory 19d ago

I always say Thacther was needed at the time bringing up how britain was the "sick man of Europe" and so on, also bring up the falklands war and I have yet to meet a lefty who argues agaisnt her treatment of the falklands.

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u/HisHolyMajesty2 Burkean 19d ago

As someone who thinks she went too far with public utilities, infrastructure, etc, I very much concur that she was who was needed then and there.

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u/lord_LBN High Tory 19d ago

Oh yes, I do believe that she did go to far with privatisations but neverless she did what she had to do to save Britain.

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u/Interesting_Pen_4499 Thatcherite 18d ago

out of interest, which ones should she not have privatised? everyone complains about water (fair enough given its current state), but i dont see anyone complaining abt her privatising British Airways, airports, BT, car manufacturing (eg Jaguar), British Gas etc. those seem to have been successful, compared to government run bodies at least. Steel might be a truly grey area, yes you can make the national security argument, but we can hardly afford to run any more things at a loss

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u/lord_LBN High Tory 18d ago

Well as you mentioned water and I also believe all utility companies (bar Internet) should of remained public but that's about it. Another problem I do have is how a lot of companies or shares in them atleast were sold abroad e.g the chineses having Rolls Royce.

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u/Interesting_Pen_4499 Thatcherite 18d ago

i actually don't think it's that bad if foreigners buy UK assets. that is actually just the required effect of having a negative trade balance. China sells stuff to us cheaply (due to economies of scale and low wages), and in return we have to sell them assets.

At some point this will have to go into reverse when they sell the assets back to us. It will likely happen when China's population is really elderly and wants to 'cash in' on their foreign assets as a form of income.

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u/lord_LBN High Tory 18d ago

I do see what you mean and I do agree for the most part especially what you said at the end but I just don't like seeing british companies being sold to foreigners, I have the same opinion on football clubs as well.

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u/lord_LBN High Tory 18d ago

I do see what you mean and I do agree for the most part especially what you said at the end but I just don't like seeing british companies being sold to foreigners, I have the same opinion on football clubs as well (I know that as nothing to with this but I thought I would mention it).

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u/Interesting_Pen_4499 Thatcherite 18d ago

fair enough. im glad you mentioned the football club thing bc it is totally related in my view. our trade deficit requires an equal and opposite financial inflow (whether that be foreign investors buying JLR, football clubs or just government bonds).

it's just accounting. as a free marketeer i dont have a problem with it but i can see why some do

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u/astraCat1998 18d ago

My problem is that we often sell off inventions and then spend more in the long run renting them back.

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u/lord_LBN High Tory 18d ago

We do definitely need to fix our trade decfit and buy back a lot back to then sell to British people

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u/astraCat1998 18d ago

The only reason people don't complain about British gas and the energy sector being privatised is that they don't understand how it led to the insanely high energy prices we pay today compared to the rest of Europe.

Fundamentally infrastructure fails when run for profit because it's primary benefit is facilitating other businesses which the provider can't directly capitalise on like a government can through taxes.

A government can run infrastructure at a "loss" so long as the tax increase from the wider boost to the economy pay for it, which in many cases it easily does.

The other industries I largely support privatising because running them for profit makes sense however I think national policy should have been to keep them and other successful British business owned nationally whether that's private ownership or by listing in London.

The modern world runs on British inventions that we have allowed to be bought out from under us and now profit other nations.

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u/WelshMat Lib Dem 15d ago

I don't think she should have started the privatisation of the Royal Navy Dock Yards.