A legacy of division and devastation

Many people of my age developed their politics in the teeth of the Thatcher government, possibly the most challenging period in British trade union history. It is difficult to think of a modern politician who has engendered such diverse and deeply held views. For many she remains an iconic figure of monetarist free market capitalism, for others, trade unionists especially, she will remain the most destructive and divisive Prime Minister we have ever known, and there will be little mourning of her passing in many mining and shipbuilding communities in the north east.

Whichever side of the divide you are on; there is no doubting the impact of the Thatcher governments. A hard-nosed approach to everything saw the introduction of some of the most constrictive trade union laws in the world; de-industrialisation on a scale not witnessed anywhere else; mass privatisation and the unleashing of international finance trading restrictions saw a major shift in the economic constitution of the UK.

Many will herald the 'Reaganite' economic success and the 'loadsamoney' caricature which appeared in the 1980s, flourishing in unbridled wealth in the City and for others, the 'there is no such thing as society' statement is interpreted as a couldn't care less attitude to the devastation of hundreds of communities who saw their livelihoods disappear, as mining and manufacturing collapsed and unemployment passed three million.

These contradictory experiences explain the polarisation of opinion and reflect the lack of interest in consensus. People were 'for' her or 'against' her. If it was the latter, you were castigated as an enemy of progress - as a number of high profile politicians also found.

In the North East, the legacy of the Thatcher government remains apparent. The almost complete destruction of the mining industry and massive swathes of engineering and manufacturing, costing hundreds of thousands of jobs, remains an unresolved social and economic challenge that has cast the north east as a low-paying, high unemployment region struggling to achieve its full potential. The region has never shared in the gains of liberalised financial services and inflated salaries paid for producing nothing of material benefit.

Misquoting Francis of Assisi when coming to power, Thatcher promised to bring harmony where there was discord. The truth is that the country became more divided following the long Tory reign that began in 1979 and remains so now, on welfare, on the economy, on the role of the state - all attributable in some measure to the Thatcher regime. And thanks particularly to Thatcher's hatred of trade unionism we now have the highest levels of wealth inequality since industrialisation.

That is the legacy Thatcher has left in the north east; workers unemployed, industries devastated, families impoverished. But she was fundamentally wrong about there being no such thing as society. The north east remains united by a strong sense of solidarity and community, one of the many reasons her Party fails to succeed here and will continue to do so as long as they implement Thatcherite policies.

Kevin Rowan

Regional Secretary

Northern TUC