Steve................"The Old Sea Dog".................(retired)


1982..One Mans Opinion
 
Democracy in the UK came under attack from the very politicians it brought to power in 1979 with the advent of a prime minister named Thatcher.   Thatcher was the first women Prime minister and yes it was about time that this office was opened up to both sexes. The fact she was a women was significant only to historians, what followed next was nothing to do with her sex but had more to do with the greed of the individual. The new generations were capitalistic to the very extreme and now companies became controlled by accountants. The next three months figures were all that mattered as the culture shifted to obtain the fast buck. Thatcher was a master at exploiting this mood and appealed to the masses of Dollar hungry people. All long term plans were to be rejected in favour of the fast profit... This country has not trained a single apprentice since that day.. Training apprentices is costly and takes away profits so it had to go... Now of course there is a definite skill shortage in UK Industry. Qualified and experienced engineers are in fact a dying breed.

At no time did she ask herself why a particular situation was in place, If she could save by cutting services she would do so with no regards of the effect on the population. A good example was free school milk given to children each day & the regulation of bread production. Bread production was regulated in the depression as many undernourished children suffered from the disease known as Rickets. This was caused by a shortage of calcium within the diet. Bakers making bread were licensed and the recipe changed to include a portion of calcium. Government inspectors would check this aspect at regular intervals. Later a surplus of milk production within the UK enabled every child to be given a third of a pint of milk every school day. It should be noted that the UK is totally self sufficient with regards to diary products.

These two simple measures were very successful at ensuring basic public health was maintained regardless of the income of the family. Without these measures most children would not have survived so well in the 1939 to 1959 era when food rationing was in force. As education secretary before she became prime minister, Thatcher the school milk snatcher stopped this issue. Later as prime minister she removed regulation from the bakers allowing anyone to make and sell bread. The traditional baker could not compete and went out of business as the market was flooded with very cheap bread. The consumer does not profit by this as the cheap bread does not contain sufficient nutrition. So for the first time since 1930, the disease of Rickets can be found in the poorer segments of our society.

Thatcher's majority was very big and all official opposition was ineffective. This is a dangerous state of affairs as now the democracy system had a dictator. In one famous speech she said "There is no such thing as society" and then set about dismantling it. Mental hospitals and long term care institutions were closed down as their patents were place back for the so called "care in the community".. Many mentally ill patents suddenly found that they had to survive in normal society with only a weekly visit from a semi-skilled mental health care worker. There were many cases of the seriously ill failing to take their medication and then murdering totalstrangers. A 12 year old girl was knifed and died on my towns streets because of the premature release of a very mentally ill woman. Our prisons are now full of mentally ill patients who commit lesser offences as they struggled to live alone on the community. But it saved money and that was all that mattered to the Thatcher administration.

Industry was given the green light to lay off men and maximise short term profits. Employment legislation was rescinded and the working man slowly had his rights eroded. The percentage of unemployed was to increase at an alarming rate. The increases becoming so great that the political system would constantly change "The way it counted them" to keep the numbers lower. I ask you ... can you change the way you count,???? ...of course not. It was creative (dishonest) accounting. This was to become the "Norm" during theThatcher years with corruption becoming a major government pastime. The Yuppie was born.. Buy Sell and make a profit...Circulate the money fast enough and you can make believe you had an economy.. Not so as the massive growth in the "Service Industries" simply circulated existing money adding no product or increased value to the overall amount.

Thatcher was anti any trade union, and by using the police forces as a semi military organisation, set about destroying industries to put the Unions out of business... Very soon the population of this country became uneasy at these events...In 1981 the long hot summer saw violence and riots in most major cities. Often the excuse was different, sometimes race.. but really the underlying trend was thatchers policy as she established total control over all the population... It is very unusual to see riots in the UK as the population are normally apathetic to events around them.... Clearly here was a major problem caused by Thatcher which if not corrected would be her downfall.

So what came next was a disgraceful part of the UK's recent history. A well known and well proven Russian tactic was employed which simply says..."If you have trouble at home, Find an enemy abroad. Then the population will unite against the common enemy". It is my opinion that diplomats from other countries were used to invite Argentina to claim the Falkland Islands. Argentina had always claimed sovereignty. I believe that they were given the "Nod & Wink" that now was the time for them to occupy. As this poem shows we in the military were fully aware of the situation and could have used "Gun Boat Diplomacy" to stop that invasion. Our political masters would not allow it.

The Falklands war could only be sustained for 6 months maximum before our resources would have been at a dangerously low level. 8,000 miles of supply lines with virtually the entire Royal Navy committed. We had no reserves. We made it with just 2 weeks to spare. But read the poem (The first I ever wrote many years later) and maybe you will understand the cost that individual paid.

Political decisions, within the UK
Upset the population, in a big way
People respond, it must be said
With city riots, where some are dead

Spy trawler, in the south Atlantic
Intelligence reports, turn the ministry frantic
Invasion forces, in full preparation
We must react, with determination

Plenty of time, to plan and prepare
Gunboat diplomacy, by sea and by air
Squadrons prepared, at 6 hours notice
Royal Navy ready, to operate rotas

Allow us to operate, in our own way
We can stop this, before with lives we pay
Not yet, the politicians reply
We care not, that servicemen die

Bristol is burning, that’s our priority
We need this war, to feed our vanity
Our population, must understand
That we only fight, on some far off land

We need this war, not yet you go
Re-unite the population, with a common foe
Political decisions, within the UK
Prevent the Navy, from getting underway

1982 The Deployment

Waste not, these precious weeks
Prepare for war, with all due speed
Too late, for diplomatic lips
Weapons required, and hospital ships

For six long weeks, we patiently wait
For gunboat diplomacy, it is too late
We know exactly, how and when
The invasion, will take place and then

Invasion completed, our politicians react
With complete surprise, and ignore the facts
We as a Nation, are supposed to unite
Against an enemy, who wants not the fight

The deployment, is carefully stage managed
27,000 men embarked, and heading for carnage
Television crews, don’t give a damn
This armchair war, has just began

Given orders, to proceed
But only at, one quarter speed
This spectacle, we must make last
This armchair war, will be a blast

1982 The Event

Smoke, Sweat, Blood and Tears,
To live these days with constant fears.
Visual images to block from the mind,
Its the smell of battle I find profound.

The smell of flowers is all gone,
To smell a woman is all we long.
No time to dream of things gone past,
Must stay alert if we’re to last.

Horrific injuries, constant pain,
To stop the bleeding we try in vain.
Cold & hungry for what seems like years,
Overridden by constant fears.

There is nothing romantic about this game,
Everyday different and yet the same.
Should we survive & not be mown,
God willing that we all go home.

1982 The aftermath

Dead, 250 of our young boys
Politicians rejoice, and believe we are toys
1,000 return, with life long injuries
Politicians, continue with their perjuries

We have won, the Nation cries
From their armchairs, as they rise
No thought, for the 2,000 who are frantic
Shipwrecked and sunk, in the cold South Atlantic

Noisy receptions, greet those returning
Heroes to make, politicians are yearning
Television crews, record the events
For politicians, it is heaven sent

But given the fact, that we could have prevented
This situation, from becoming so angry and vented
In gunboat diplomacy, we have the skill
Provided that politicians, have the will

This war as far as the UK population was concerned was to be enjoyed from the comfort of their armchairs, The population was in no danger and it was just like watching a John Wayne Movie on the TV. It had little impact on the population who viewed it like a football match. Maybe a better analogy would be to liken it to the Roman games as the crowd screams for blood. Many senior servicemen resigned at the end of that war. I too left the Navy for some personal reasons admittedly, but at the time also felt I could not serve a country who's blood lust under Thatcher had become abhorrent to me.

Thatcher came out of that War a hero... The Nation elected her repeatedly and her power base was assured for years to come. She was a good politician but as a person was a dictator. To Finance her policies she closed down 90% of our deep coal mines so that the other 10% in private hands could make more money for the fat cats. The steel industry was devastated and sold off into private hands as was all the water gas electricity and telephone utilities. Even the railways and merchant ship fleet was broken into pieces and sold off. So the basic infrastructure so vital to us in WW2 was dismantled and sold off for the short term gain. All this took place with no thought given to the "National Interest"

If a 1939 sea blockade was mounted on this country now, we do not have the basic resources to survive. Thatcher was never one to ask what events had decided why we are here at this point in history. Had she done so she would never have embarked on these policies. Our armed Services are now manned at a very dangerously low level & will be incapable of sustaining action for any length of time. Much of our Energy comes from Natural gas fields deep under the North Sea. Most of these platforms are in International waters & I know by bitter experiences that these very vulnerable targets cannot be defended. Even a conventional minor war (or even an act of terrorism)against this country will mean the population will not even be able to remain warm in the winter. Domestic coal is imported cheaply from south Africa even when this entire Island is built on coal.

Of course you can only fool some of the people some of the time & financing Thatcher policies by selling off the family silver had by definition to run its course and stop...There is only so much family Silver.. The industrial base of this country was devastated during this time and when "The Lady" was finally removed from office was now only 20% of its pre 1979 size... In my view Thatcher did far more damage to this country than did Hitler. I would like to see her charged with Treason.

So we had our democratically elected dictator and democracy & the common good was sacrificed. During this time the opposition political parties changed their policies radically to become re-elected as indeed they were. So have we a democracy at this time as we can vote as we wish. The answer currently is no as the political parties now all pander to the greed of this new generation so we may have a choice of names, but we have no choice on policy. At the last set of elections in this country only 29% voted... this figure is normally 70%

If this continues, the population will not bother to vote in large numbers as there is nothing to chose between these political parties & I suspect that Government corruption is once again rife.

Simply Steve

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