What was it that took Mr Burnham’s fancy about the 1970s?
Was it the high inflation that made our current cost of living crisis look mild?
Was it government borrowing longer term costing 15.5%?
Was it the rate of pit and factory closures?
Was it the halving of UK car output 1972-82?
Was it the colossal losses of the nationalised industries led by coal, rail and steel?
Was it the brain drain as talent and investment left the country?
Was it the 83% higher tax rate on earnings and 98% on savings income?
Was it going to the IMF for a loan when the government ran out of money?
Was it areas in the hot summer of 1976 cut off from running water in their homes by nationalised water?
Was it Heath putting the country onto a three day working week thanks to a miners strike?
October 19, 2026
the music of that era was good. other than that it’s just laziness by politicians with little clue about the real world.
October 19, 2026
@iain gill – and they the Politicians still sit on their hands take the money and blame others for them not managing for the whole country. Political bigotry out of ‘hate’ and ideology is there only discipline
October 19, 2026
Because he was never there is the obvious answer. At 7 years of age do you really comprehend the realities?
October 19, 2026
Was it Harold Wilson, the numskull away in the Cloud(Morning Cloud) Ted Heath or was James Callaghan a Socialist Decade of destruction.
The days of Socialism
• 1970 Dockers’ Strike: A national walkout by port and dock workers over pay and conditions.
• 1971 Postal Workers Strike: A 7-week strike by the Union of Post Office Workers bringing mail services to a halt.
• 1972 Miners’ Strike: A major strike by the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) that severely depleted coal stocks, declare a state of emergency.
• 1973–1974 Miners’ Strike and Three-Day Week: introduction of a Three-Day Week to conserve electricity.
• 1978–1979 Winter of Discontent: A wave of private and public sector strikes erupted after the Labour government of James Callaghan imposed a 5% limit on pay rises to combat inflation.
• Ford Strike (September 1978): Car plant workers walked out and secured a 17% pay increase, breaking the government’s policy.
• Day of Action (January 22, 1979): Roughly 1.25 million public sector workers—including NHS staff, garbage collectors, and school workers—staged a 24-hour national strike.
History is for learning not repeating. Maybe that’s why History is of the agenda.
October 19, 2026
We also had the sectarian war waged by the IRA.
Yes it was blissful in comparison with what Burn’em heralds.
October 19, 2026
The out of depth ‘little man’ is all at sea without a brain. He preaches ‘hate’, the ‘hate’ for the nation and its people in the name of Socialism. He will fight the nation and its people rather stand up for them, he will impoverish them in the name of Socialism rather than release them to reach potential. It is only about his very personal version of Socialism that is about him, him personally – the self of the out of depth ego
October 19, 2026
Perhaps because those of his ideological standing had a lot of control??
Hard line Unions were able to hold the country to ransom and the workers too.