People Of Interest In The North East

[Maggie/915]

I am going to see a play called 'This House' at the National. It is about the last of the Callaghan Government. Obviously Maggie Thatcher got in when they lost the vote.

Some of the whips were called the fixit four and had the job of getting people to vote.

Bog Trotting, Bottom Flushing and Bovver Boys.

That is the title of the chapter in Joe Ashton's book Red Rose Blues.

One of our MP's was

"Jack Dormand, the pairing Whip, a genial but ruthless Geordie headmaster,"as he is described

[Maggie/915]

Chris Mullen was another Northern MP, for a while.

Very entertaining.

[Adam Hogg]

Interesting how a head of the National Coal Board was MP for Wansbeck in 1945 then Blyth Valley in 1950-1964, Alfred Robens Also helped Create the Health and Safety at work act 1974 the Health and Safety Commission and the Health and Safety Executive.

[mercuryg]

Robens was, sadly, a mancunian. My father knew him well.

[Maggie/915]

David Almond on desert island discs today.

He wrote Skellig and is talking about his influences, even the Oxford ballroom

[Adam Hogg]

Another one Interesting how now we have the Ex Head Of the N.U.M Ian Lavery as MP now, who said Coal Mining was dead?

[Keith Scantlebury]

Another one Interesting how now we have the Ex Head Of the N.U.M Ian Lavery as MP now, who said Coal Mining was dead?

Margaret Thatcher. ...... wheres me prize ? dont ask Lockey for advice, I want a good one !!!

[Maggie/915]

Someone said there was an application for a deep mine at Widdrington.

Maybe coal mining is not dead!

[johndawsonjune1955]

There is talk of mining starting again. But i have to keep my lips sealed for now

[Malcolm Robinson]

Really??????

http://www.journallive.co.uk/north-east-news/todays-news/2013/05/11/midlands-fire-puts-north-east-mining-jobs-in-jeopardy-61634-33313734/

[Adam Hogg]

Really??????

http://www.journalli...61634-33313734/

Has this not happened before? A little thing called Ellington Colliery? UK Coal got "loans" off the then Labour Government to safeguard jobs at Ellington and other deep mines owned by UK Coal then the Government said no more money for you and Ellington closed. Along with a few other deep mines owned by UK Coal i think.

[threegee]

Wansbeck MP Ian Lavery, who has called for a Commons debate on the issue, said:

"The Government could have stepped in and handed them a loan, not a bail-out, not a handout, a loan on a commercial basis, but this has not happened..."

Bloody capitalist lackey! Nationalise the lot I say!

Seriously though coal is in a bit of a renaissance at the moment and Lavery should be looking at why UK Coal isn't profitable instead of encouraging state dependence. A commercial loan isn't a commercial loan if it can't be repaid, and easy money will just encourage an appetite for more state handouts - even if the EU will permit one. There's certainly plenty of demand for coal currently - at the right prices!

[Maggie/915]

Always two sides to every argument.

Who do you believe?

What information has been tampered with, who gains!

[threegee]

I am going to see a play called 'This House' at the National. It is about the last of the Callaghan Government. Obviously Maggie Thatcher got in when they lost the vote...

That vote was in the Commons, at least that's what brought on the general election.

[Maggie/915]

Yep!

The play is being broadcast to several cinemas next week.

The Tyneside Cinema maybe, if anyone is interested in the politics.

[Adam Hogg]

Seriously though coal is in a bit of a renaissance at the moment and Lavery should be looking at why UK Coal isn't profitable instead of encouraging state dependence.

UK coal is not running at a profit because of some simple reasons:

1) They have a £2 million tax bill.

2) They have lost hundreds of millions of pounds in equipment and coal at two Collieries Daw Mill and Ellington.

3) They have been fined Millions in Health and Safety Breaches which has cost the lives of workers.

UK Coal should never have happened, the NCB should have still been around and Bates, Ashington, Ellington and other deep mines should have still been open and would making a profit but that "woman" had a deep hatred for miners because they helped make the government she was part of in 1974 lose the general election. Also for those who say it was not her who did it, in 1981 she made plans to close 23 collieries the NUM threatened to go on strike and she backed down because coal stocks were low, in 1984 she and her puppet (Ian MacGregor) made the plans again because coal stocks were high after 3 years of production and "cheap" imports and the NUM went on strike but lost the battle and the coal industry was destroyed over the course of 28 years. 174 collieries in 1984, 8 collieries in 2012, 166 collieries closed between 1984 and 2012, a drop of 95.4% between 1984 and 2012.

[threegee]

A totally warped view on Mrs T. Adam. She didn't hate anyone but passionately cared about our Country, all the hatred came and still comes from the hard left. I simply couldn't believe how stupid the Ashington lot could be the day they physically attacked MacGregor, who was simply there to explore the possibilities and see what could be done. MacGregor was no puppet, and contrary to popular belief it was actually Jim Callaghan who first persuaded him to return from the States to help sort out the total mess at the nationalised British Leyland. He was a tough no-nonsense Glaswegian who was no stranger to hard manual work himself, and had a deep respect for hard working people.

Scargill tried year in year out to provoke a strike and in the end when his membership wouldn't support him he called one anyway - an illegal strike! He had no interest in other than causing even more industrial chaos, and, when his illegal strike dragged on, would not negotiate. Neil Kinnock has recently said as much.

"a deep hatred for miners because they helped make the government she was part of in 1974 lose the general election" I can assure you that in no way did Mrs. T. ever blame the miners for losing the 1974 general election. If she blamed anyone it would have been that waste of space Edward Heath. I didn't support Harold Wilson but in retrospect he did a lot better struggling against the odds (the uncontrollable union leaders who actually ran the country) than Heath ever did. He was twice the man Heath was, but the unions thought they owned him and ran the country, so he really didn't have a chance. I really respect some of the old Labour lot as although their ideas were often quite wrong-headed the actually believed in something, and came from hard times that you couldn't imagine today. Anyway Ted Heath had massive help in losing that election from the Arabs; research the 1973 oil price shock.

Tell me why your nationalisation will succeed when all other forms of management have failed? You've listed three reasons why UK Coal has a liquidity problem, but you haven't told us why they aren't profitable. If they were reasonably profitable they'd be able to cope with those losses, and would at least be able to raise more capital on the markets.

[Adam Hogg]

I simply couldn't believe how stupid the Ashington lot could be the day they physically attacked MacGregor, who was simply there to explore the possibilities and see what could be done.

Correction it was not Ashington it was Ellington and second MacGregor was not attacked, the miners moved around MacGregor and one of the men in the group grabbed MacGregor by his Donkey Jacket and said "I want to talk to you." MacGregor was scared and fell backwards with the fright and the fence he land against fell back sending MacGregor to the ground, after he fell the police and miners went to help him and make sure he was ok nobody attacked him all they wanted was answers.

Watch this video and look for yourself if you don't believe me:

http://www.itnsource.com/en/shotlist//ITN/1999/11/01/BSP011199024/?s=ellington+colliery&st=0&pn=1

[threegee]

I saw it from the front and all that really mattered at the time was the way the press span the news as an assault; Internet stop-motion was still in its infancy!

Anyway, good find! Now go find why UK Coal are losing money. The truth is out there!

[Adam Hogg]

Anyway, good find! Now go find why UK Coal are losing money. The truth is out there!

Thank you threegee, Maybe they are paying their CEO to much and they are losing money that way.

[johndawsonjune1955]

Interesting how a head of the National Coal Board was MP for Wansbeck in 1945 then Blyth Valley in 1950-1964, Alfred Robens Also helped Create the Health and Safety at work act 1974 the Health and Safety Commission and the Health and Safety Executive.

No interest in Robens after the Aberfan disaster. He took money from the fund set up to see to the slag heaps. Took years to get it back. But, Aberfan, Robens told too many lies. He didnt have any decency in him.

Shame of him