Abandon Liverpool, minister told Thatcher

[Jan Klimkowski]

Although they never articulated the case publicly at the time, those telling Thatcher that there was little point in spending money on Liverpool also included the industry secretary, Sir Keith Joseph, and her Downing Street advisers, Sir John Hoskyns and Sir Robin Ibbs.

This is highly relevant.

Joseph, Hoskyns and Ibbs were key "intellectual" architects of Thatcherism - ie the implementation of Chicago School Economic Shock Therapy.

Hoskyns wrote a secret paper entitled "Stepping Stones" which advocated the castration of the trade union movement - which Thatcher implemented with her war on the National Union of Miners, the most powerful British union.

Ibbs is the archetypal British establishment insider - running ICI and Lloyds Bank.

Joseph was the "power behind the throne" of Thatcherism, a Friedmanite fundamentalist.

According to the Financial Times:

At the end of 2011, the release of confidential documents under the UK Government's 30-year rule revealed Joseph's thoughts regarding the Liverpool Riots. In response to Michael Heseltine's regeneration proposal, Joseph suggested that there should be a "managed rundown" of Merseyside instead. Later, his private secretary asked for minutes of a meeting to be amended to remove reference to explicit economic regeneration as Mr Joseph believed "it is by no means clear that any such strategy could lead to a viable economic entity".

In 1981, unemployment in parts of Liverpool was as high as 50%.

In Spain today, youth unemployment is running at 46%, as Shock Therapy (aka "austerity") is applied across Europe.

We shall see how politicians react to the inevitable riots and disorder.