The Big Difference Between Britain Today, and the 60's And Early 70's.

[Ivanhoe]

Aged 62 now, when I left school in the early 60's Britain was an easier place to find jobs and work.

I left school and went straight into a job I had lined up.  I was never unemployed, including working for the post office for 13 years.

Finding secure long term employment then was easier because we were a virtual nationalised country courtesy of decent one nation left of centre Conservative Government's and equally decent left wing Labour's Government's.

But since the 80's and Thatcher things changed, Britain became obsessed by profit and gain, and "the market" ruled, and "the market needs the unemployed to make it work".

Youngsters today largely, havent a hope in hell of landing a secure job, let alone a well paid secure job, or a home of their own,  when profit is the master.

[Hugh]

BLAME THE LABOUR PARTY
   (a) They openned the flood gates for imigrants to come in from the west indies to fill jobs.

   (b) Blaire openned the flood gates for eastern block countries personel to enter the country in uncontrolled numbers and they had to be housed and were able to claim benefits

[Ivanhoe]

///////BLAME THE LABOUR PARTY
   (a) They openned the flood gates for imigrants to come in from the west indies to fill jobs.

   (b) Blaire openned the flood gates for eastern block countries personel to enter the country in uncontrolled numbers and they had to be housed and were able to claim benefits ///////

Scapegoats scapegoats scapegoats.   

The real problem here is the British, our failure to be political motivated since Thatcher reduced wages, abolished wages council's, reduced pensions, and stopped building council houses for people who could not afford to buy.
 
 
 

[Hugh]

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Supporters of the International Socialists, forerunners of the Socialist Workers Party, join a demonstration in 1968 against the war in Vietnam
This year marks the 40th anniversary of 1968. Ian Birchall looks at the lasting legacy of a year in

A Labour government elected with great enthusiasm a few years earlier, holding down wages, cutting public services, tightening immigration controls and slavishly backing a US war.

[caminito]

I had a lot of friends who went straight from school into work.
Post office , Walls foods , Building sites , Shops , Offices etc.
They were on quite decent wages and could afford motorbikes , clothes , records , fags and beer.
I spent about 6 years living on a pittance while I studied and I remenber the days when I was confined to my bedroom with my books ,whilst my friends were out and about enjoying themselves. (especially those sunny summer days )
To an extent we make of life what we will !
I made my choice for the future !!
 

1 in 5 children now leave school unable to read or write properly. Unable to do basic arithmetic!
After 13 yrs of a Labour government .  After President Blair said EDUCATION ..EDUCATION ...EDUCATION !   
Then they expect the state to feed and house them !
















9  

[caminito]

The jobs are there .!  Some cannot be bothered to get off their a*ses and WORK
To easy to get benefits !

Nearly four million people working in the UK between July and September this year were born abroad, the Office for National Statistics revealed yesterday.

The figure is 204,000 up on 2009, a rise of 5.5 per cent and nearly half of the influx are economic immigrants from the new EU member states in eastern Europe.

The number of British-born workers in employment grew by just 0.4 per cent.


The figures came a day before the Migration Advisory Committee was due to publish its recommendations for an annual migration cap today.

[Hugh]

We had a great motor bike making industry in this country but were gear up for mainly 500cc machine and above. The labour party with out for warning the industry changed the law so learners could only ride 250cc machines,. this allowed the market to to be taken over by Japanese motor cycle industry which were already producing very fast 250ccc bikes which were even faster than our 500cc. This law lost thousands of our workers their jobs and nothing to improve road safety

[Ivanhoe]

///////A Labour government elected with great enthusiasm a few years earlier, holding down wages, cutting public services, tightening immigration controls and slavishly backing a US war. ///////

I honestly dont think you read too well.

""""""""""""""""""""""""""""New Labour""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""", WERE NOT A LABOUR GOVERNMENT.  THEY WERE RIGHT WING.

[Ivanhoe]

///////I had a lot of friends who went straight from school into work.
Post office , Walls foods , Building sites , Shops , Offices etc.
They were on quite decent wages and could afford motorbikes , clothes , records , fags and beer.///////

And what is wrong with enjoying oneself when one has a job ?

[Ivanhoe]

///////I spent about 6 years living on a pittance while I studied and I remenber the days when I was confined to my bedroom with my books ,whilst my friends were out and about enjoying themselves. (especially those sunny summer days )
To an extent we make of life what we will !
I made my choice for the future !!///////

Yes a choice to have a ruddy great chip on your shoulder.

[Hugh]

///////A Labour government elected with great enthusiasm a few years earlier, holding down wages, cutting public services, tightening immigration controls and slavishly backing a US war. ///////

I honestly dont think you read too well.

""""""""""""""""""""""""""""New Labour""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""", WERE NOT A LABOUR GOVERNMENT.  THEY WERE RIGHT WING.


[/quote     THIS WAS OLD LABOUR 1968

[Ivanhoe]

//////A Labour government elected with great enthusiasm a few years earlier, holding down wages, cutting public services, tightening immigration controls and slavishly backing a US war. ///////

All this was Thatcherism during the 80's

[caminito]

And what is wrong with enjoying oneself when one has a job

The old saying ....... Live now pay later.    

Maybe if you had studied harder , got a better occupation ,  and made a more prospeousr life ,  perhaps you would not be so screwed up now  
  ( and bitter )

For sombody not yet retired , you have a lot of time on your hands during the working day  

[Hugh]

A Labour government elected with great enthusiasm a few years earlier, holding down wages, cutting public services, tightening immigration controls and slavishly backing a US war.

This was old labour before they opened the flood gates for immigrants from the west indies who had the choice between prison or Britain

[GrannyMac]

In the 60s and 70s jobs were available - thats one difference.  The starting pay was poor, and young people mainly stayed at home and tipped up their wages to help out their parents.  Thats another difference.   They didn't expect to get a flat of their own until they saved up, or even got married. Councils didn't give properties to single young people in those days.  Nowadays many young people will tell you they are 'entitled' to move into a council flat, and 'entitled' to have it paid for.  Seems they weren't particularly 'entitled' to find a job first!  And, what happened to the family as a unit?  Thats different too.  As circumstances and society changes, its up to us as individuals to adapt.  The rate of change is constantly speeding up, and we need to try and keep up or we suffer.    Its not all to do with Maggie Thatcher.  My hometown lost its industry in the 70s and 80s.  When I was young it seemed nearly everyone in Dundee worked in jute, but the Indian people started processing it themselves, and the mills closed. 

Another difference from the 60s and 70s - when people were classed as poor then, they really were poor and often had to decide whether to eat or pay the rent.  At least nowadays, most poverty is measured as relative.   When rent, council tax, and a variety of benefits are put together for a family it can add up to a reasonable income.   However, its been documented that the people on low incomes who lost out most during the last government, were those under pension age with no children.