Town suffered at Howe's hand
THIS week has seen release of the Central Policy Review Staff documents from 1982, when Margaret Thatcher and Geoffrey Howe — her chancellor — jointly proposed a radical plan to dismantle the welfare state.
The plan included compulsory charges for schooling, a fundamental reduction of public services and effectively the end of the National Health Service.
This is the same Geoffrey Howe (now Lord Howe of Aberavon), who, in 1981/83, as Thatcher's chancellor, drove through policies that devastated parts of the UK steel industry, as well as other manufacturing sectors.
Howe was born in Port Talbot, though he left to go to Winchester public school and Cambridge. Some years ago, Port Talbot councillors, some of whom were themselves steelworkers, conferred on Howe the Freedom of the Borough.
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Traditionally, this is an honour given to a person who it is felt has rendered significant service and benefit to a town.
Port Talbot, a steel town for generations, suffered badly from the Howe policies, with many jobs lost and massive redundancies.
What would the redundant steelworkers and their families now say about the council decision to make Howe a Freeman?
I would like to suggest that Neath Port Talbot Council give serious thought to withdrawing the Freedom of the Borough from a man whose decisions brought such damage to the town.
Howard Williams
Oxford
Comments
by Neathboy234
Tuesday, January 22 2013, 4:18PM
“To be fair to Maggie she did keep BSC going when other around the cabinet table wanted to close the whole company. Saying that Howe never did nothing for this area and the savage attack of the Tory part in the 80's destroyed much of South Wales. The one good thing that the Tories did was that through they're actions we have devolution today. Also it was Maggie who took us further into the EU than any other PM, except of course for the greatest Tory leader of all time Mr Edward Heath(The last one nation Tory leader, a man who put the country before that of the Tory party.”