Glenda Jackson: Poisonously honest when promoting a spent ideology

Glenda Jackson - Old Labour MP

Glenda Jackson: Poisonously honest when promoting a spent ideology

Looking at the House of Commons debating chamber it was easy to see that most of the Labour benches were empty. Among Labour MPs that were in attendance, there were polite Labour MPs that said their pieces recognizing the statesmanship of Margaret Thatcher and others merely spilt their poison as if Margaret Thatcher was still there. Among Old Labour MPs was Glenda Jackson who proceeded to put on the table the battle cries of the Labour Party in Opposition from 1979 until 1997.

What most Left-wing Labour MPs seem to forget is that Margaret Thatcher’s success was partly due to the trade unions themselves because the trade unions were completely out of control and threatening to paralyse the country under the Labour Administration of James Callaghan. James Callaghan imposed pay caps in a desperate effort to control inflation during what was called the Winter of Discontent. The trade unions themselves brought down the Labour government.

Margaret Thatcher came to power in 1979 and her first priority was obvious. The only way to avoid financial suicide was to curb the powers of the trade unions. To do so, she confronted belligerent miners led by Arthur Scargill and proceeded to implement a process of privatisation of public companies including transport and utilities.

The country went through hell from 1978 until 1979 and the TUC conveniently forgets what the TUC did to the Labour government that started with Harold Wilson and ended with James Callaghan. Ed Miliband, present Labour leader, if he has any incline to become Prime Minister, should remember what the trade unions did to a previous Labour government. Even if Margaret Thatcher had not had the intention of privatising public companies, privatisation was the only way to stop the TUC from doing what they had done to James Callaghan.

When we look at what is happening in Cyprus, Portugal, Ireland, Spain and Italy and other European countries, we must re-learn the lessons about living within our means. This is why Tony Blair launched such a direct attack against Ed Miliband and against the temptations a weak leader might have of giving way to belligerent trade unions.

Glenda Jackson represents a disastrous era in British politics and economics. Naturally, she had to rise to try and demolish the memory of the one woman who was able to do what two Labour Prime Ministers couldn’t do.

I do believe in public companies, provided we have the means to stop public companies from being used by corrupt trade union leaders who want to use them as political tools for ends that having nothing to do with the common good.

Of course the country needs energy and coal is a fundamental element in the energy equation of any country. Australia’s prosperity and China’s economic development are partly sustained by the use of vast coal resources.