Let's get some facts clear:-

Thatcher was the first leader of any Western country in the 20th century who actually REDUCED the size of the state and reduced the proportion of income spent by that state. That is why the establishment hate her to hell! That was a good thing!

Thatcher also repeated time and time again that you couldn't build success on debt .... the present credit crunch amply demonstrates how right she was.

Thatcher also took on the trade unions, who were becoming disproportionaly powerful, with strikes at the drop of the hat. People forget the 70's and the wildcat strikes that were happening daily at the behest of pretty corrupt and power crazed union officials. I know my Dad was sick and tired of union officials calling strikes all the time that benefited unions but did nothing for the workers, except lose them pay. She gave control back to members and not surprisingly they did not want to go on strike every 5 minutes, I know my Dad was one of them and was happy to be given a vote.

Breaking the miners and shutting the mines was a politically motivated decision though and the latter part of it was a huge mistake, probably her biggest. Thinking that natural gas would be around for a long time, she altered energy policy and we are seeing the repurcussions of that now. She should have tried to achieve more balance, but I think the animosity towards the miners unions outweighed her political judgement.

There was, however, an unfinished task - bringing uncontrolled management back under the control of real shareholders. This was the challenge that Labour should have taken up - but failed to - much to their shame and discredit since Blair became so busy sidling up to corrupt CEO's and their crony directors.

The big deficit is that executive management run companies for their own benefit and often to the detriment of shareholders. The big problem is that the shareholders, who are essentially pension funds and unit trusts invest monies for their own benefit (and behave like the managers of the companies) and to the detriment of those who provide the funds - ie. US!!!

So, you get this cosy relationship of fund managers and CEO's and crony boards basically shafting all of us.

Labour should have given back control to those who money is being stolen by this cosy cabal. They didn't and for that alone they deserve to end up on the scrap heap of history.

Never mind their role in creating the police fascist state they leave behind - but that's another story.

Bye bye failures .........