standing ovations, pings of last week's ference, Thatcher's government is in crisis.
Little things show this. Sir Keith 'mad monk' Joseph was deemed to be a bit out of touch and 'theoretical'. lukewarm applause. Angus Maude gave him a slap on the wrist by forthrightly acknowledging that unemployment is not the fault of the unemployed temselves.
He has clearly been watching the opinion polls. Despite Tory claims that the key issue is the supposed 'fight against inflation', a clear majority people think unemployment is the number one question. According to an opinion poll in the Daily Mail a whopping 65 per cent think the Tories are "doing a bad job in tackling unemployment'. and backslapTory .conHe received only the issue of "balanced relation between judicious state inand private initiative'. days such talk is sacrilege. ren, a inatcnente Hara-licl, rage that people with clear longer do the honourable thing and resign!
The slump in Britain is already much deeper than in 1974/5. The Tories have made the recession bite ever deeper simultaneously maintained tight control of In these But all John Bif- Everything could do was differences no climate of fear?.
They have the money supply, high interest rates, low government borrowing, and a high pound.
dedicated unemployment high enough and, fast enough to break the militancy of the working class. This is what the Tories mean by 'creating a Thatcher drew the lesson from the Heath overmucul unal luc surcurla anu conbalvil! of the working class in the factories and plants could not be broken through mere appeals to effects of mass unemployment.
working.
is developing.
of head-on the lowering of interest rates.
The working class was initially stunned by the rapidly mounting unemployment - jumping 20 per cent in August alone. Consequently major groups of workers have been unable to challenge their misleaders and take a stand against cutbacks, closures, and short-time At first the imposition of wage rises only half the inflation rate on important groups of workers gave the idea that Thatcher's policy was working. But evidence is growing that it has been unable to destroy the militancy of the working class. A new mood of resistance Since they failed to make a sacrificial lamb out of the steelworkers on the wages' front, the Tories have been forced to avoid a policy confrontation powerful unions over wages before the unemployment weapon has done its dirty work. But this policy creates its own problems as there is n artificial divide between the miners and the dockers and the rest of the working class.
Up to now the bosses have been prepared țo put up with economic policies against their immediate interests given the brospects. 01 defeating the workers in the long run. But the prospect of the failure of Thatcher's policies is causing them to moan - hence the calls for
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Tory 'wets' Walker and Priör: tears behind the laughter?