30 years ago today the people delivered us Mrs T

As we look upon an economic disaster, a Government close to collapse and an untried opposition leader it is easy to draw parallels between 1979 and 2009, and in many ways there are some obvious similarities. Of course, as always, the Labour Government has run out of money and it will fall to the Tories to bring order to the public finances.

30 years ago the country went to the polls, it wasn't absolutely clear the Tories would win but the indications were that Mrs T would make it through. For one, I am grateful to the electorate for delivering that Tory Government.

I was six years old in 1979 and so my memory of the time is not as clear as it could have been but I can see from my own experiences that living standards rose quite substantially. Being born to two parents employed in the public sector and the conventional wisdom that the Tories didn't believe in public services, you may expect that for me things would have got worse during the 80's. Far from it, out went the old 3rd hand car, in came the new one; out went the holidays in the caravan, in came the occasional holiday in Europe; out went the "steam powered TV", in came the Video and home computers. It wasn't all materialistic, but for a little boy things improved massively and I had a fantastic childhood.

When I read old political texts, and watch old documentaries, it's hard to equate the 70's language of an "Income's policy" and "In place of strife" with the current economic realities. Mrs T changed the economic landscape of Britain. No more beer and sandwiches at number 10, but a strategic plan to shift the economy from a command and control, union acquiesced model to an entrepreneurial, go getter system. Ridding us of trade union power and reforming the tax system were key to this.

Standing firm on the Falklands was a symbol that Great Britain would no longer roll over and allow us to be seen as a soft touch. We were put back on the map and allowed to be heard at the top table, as well as provide our obligation to the thousand or so people on those remote islands. Facing down the Soviet Union helped to lead Eastern Europe to freedom. Mrs T was instrumental in bringing about the Single European Act in 1986, the epitome of the original aims the EEC. Mrs T was a colossus on the world stage, no ridicule from a Polish PM for her.

Privatisation would not have passed through the spell checker without the Thatcher Government. British Telecom would be a basket case now, as would British Airways. Our rivers and beaches would still be sewage ridden without the investment provided by private money through Water privatisation. The country became richer, people were set free and failing institutions have stopped needing bail outs and provided vast tax sums to the exchequer. Only recently has nationalisation come back, through necessity, due to the lax regulation provided to the banking industry by the tripartite system.

I could go. She had the right ideas about Grant Maintained schools, and Trust hospitals, which having been abolished have been brought back again by this Government (what an expensive way to go full circle).

She did get many things wrong obviously. The Poll tax was one such failure, her aims were to get some proper democracy and ownership of local Government, but she forgot that many people who couldn't afford to pay were being asked to for the first time. Cabinet colleagues could not convince her that it was a bad idea and she ploughed on. By this stage of her premiership, she believed her own hype and showed the hubris that happens to all people who have been in power too long. Failing to listen to her colleagues was her downfall, any similarities to the present situation?

There were many sections of society left dispossessed by the 80s, and Mrs T did not provide enough focus on curing our social ills. She concentrated on the economy, it needed it, and some people fell by the wayside and so she will always be seen as divisive. It is something that David Cameron needs to consider when he forms the next Government.

For me, though, she did way more good than harm and I will always owe her my gratitude. Enjoy your anniversary Mrs T, we need you again!

Squiffy.