Hi Paul, you’ve given us a good account of the political landscape but to me the film clip is a stark reminder of the fundamental cultural shifts which have taken place since the 1950s. It’s these I think which have changed society so much. Growing up in the 1950s like all children I knew my place. Be it father, the vicar, teacher or your mother you did not rebel against their authority without expecting punishment. “Parenting” had not been invented and without so called experts our parents instilled in us what values they had inInherited from their own upbringing in the 1920 -1930 period.
My generation came of age in the late 60s and seventies and fought back against the old restraints and traditional views, for women’s liberation and as much individual freedom as we could get. It was all progress and in one direction … or so we thought. But with all the boundaries down now, in this new universe of our own making it seems there are few shared norms to bind us together, just a hollowing out of meaning and a growing pessimism about the future.
An interesting read Paul, thank you, but as you say, it’s easy to regret the passing of the ‘good old days’ without seeing them for what they were. A visit to Marwellam Quay in Cornwall cured me of that! It’s actually a British ghost town -a settlement based on mining that died with the resource it exploiter’s economic value. Homes that were hovels. Back breaking labour underground in a literally toxic environment, women and children putting in hours (part time after schooling for the kids…) breaking rocks. I always wondered why ancestors of mine joined the Navy given its reputation in the nineteenth century. After going there I realised that it was a better option!
Ah, but we are talking about the 50s…. Okay then… efficient policing . Yes, there are some elements I’d want to see brought back, not least a smart uniform worn smartly, a sense of service and foot patrolling in a much greater way, however, there was also extreme corruption which grew under a directly recruited ‘officer class’ introduced by former General Sir High Trenchard in the 30s, and who knew nothing about policing mostly. Routine ‘verballing’ and violence which was winked at by the courts went on to gain convictions - which subsequent legislation like PACE 1984 was introduced to eliminate or control.
The NHS is a shambles as anyone who attempts to use it knows, but isn’t that largely because it has been too successful? In those days the treatments available were much less. The famous free ‘Medicines and glasses’ quote about the NHS by Bevan(?)Now decisions are being made and have to be, by administrators on cost basis because drugs are too expensive. Plus you have the ‘internal market’ brought about by Thatcher and which years of New Labour did nothing to address. My limited experience of that as a statutory partner was a fractured, navel-gazing organisation, which was difficult to engage with and with conflicting, overlapping areas of business for each ‘trust’. As a patient, yes, it’s getting worse!
However another thing I think of is a programme I watched years ago where a nurse recalled a London hospital with a WARD full of under tens with VD… nothing like that exists today!
Immigration, yes, again an issue but remember the Notting Hill Race Riots against West African Immigration took place in 1956 and Mosley was still active then. The real issue is that people can now move much more easily around the globe than they used to be able to and are exploiting that freedom to head for countries where you can have a better lifestyle -well, I would, wouldn’t you?
I completely agree with you on manufacturing though. Thatcher destroyed the heavy industry, after decades of state mismanagement and workforce obduracy in some cases, and mortgages our future to the ‘service economy’. We saw the effect of that in the financial meltdown of 2008 and the COVID era. We suffered more than those nations that do still maintain an industrial base, but let’s be honest, British goods had gained a reputation for shoddiness and poor quality anyway.
The biggest fault of governments to me is the failure to maintain a proper educational system. I was a grammar school boy, but hold no candle for the system, but the old technical education route no longer exists, with more and more graduates in strange and esoteric subjects joining the ranks of the indigent unable to find work.
I think your final couple of paragraphs are bang on, but I can’t agree with the idea that there ever was a better time. The problems were just different but often it was in addressing those issues that the seeds of our current dilemma were sown?
Hi Paul, you’ve given us a good account of the political landscape but to me the film clip is a stark reminder of the fundamental cultural shifts which have taken place since the 1950s. It’s these I think which have changed society so much. Growing up in the 1950s like all children I knew my place. Be it father, the vicar, teacher or your mother you did not rebel against their authority without expecting punishment. “Parenting” had not been invented and without so called experts our parents instilled in us what values they had inInherited from their own upbringing in the 1920 -1930 period.
My generation came of age in the late 60s and seventies and fought back against the old restraints and traditional views, for women’s liberation and as much individual freedom as we could get. It was all progress and in one direction … or so we thought. But with all the boundaries down now, in this new universe of our own making it seems there are few shared norms to bind us together, just a hollowing out of meaning and a growing pessimism about the future.
Very well put.
An interesting read Paul, thank you, but as you say, it’s easy to regret the passing of the ‘good old days’ without seeing them for what they were. A visit to Marwellam Quay in Cornwall cured me of that! It’s actually a British ghost town -a settlement based on mining that died with the resource it exploiter’s economic value. Homes that were hovels. Back breaking labour underground in a literally toxic environment, women and children putting in hours (part time after schooling for the kids…) breaking rocks. I always wondered why ancestors of mine joined the Navy given its reputation in the nineteenth century. After going there I realised that it was a better option!
Ah, but we are talking about the 50s…. Okay then… efficient policing . Yes, there are some elements I’d want to see brought back, not least a smart uniform worn smartly, a sense of service and foot patrolling in a much greater way, however, there was also extreme corruption which grew under a directly recruited ‘officer class’ introduced by former General Sir High Trenchard in the 30s, and who knew nothing about policing mostly. Routine ‘verballing’ and violence which was winked at by the courts went on to gain convictions - which subsequent legislation like PACE 1984 was introduced to eliminate or control.
The NHS is a shambles as anyone who attempts to use it knows, but isn’t that largely because it has been too successful? In those days the treatments available were much less. The famous free ‘Medicines and glasses’ quote about the NHS by Bevan(?)Now decisions are being made and have to be, by administrators on cost basis because drugs are too expensive. Plus you have the ‘internal market’ brought about by Thatcher and which years of New Labour did nothing to address. My limited experience of that as a statutory partner was a fractured, navel-gazing organisation, which was difficult to engage with and with conflicting, overlapping areas of business for each ‘trust’. As a patient, yes, it’s getting worse!
However another thing I think of is a programme I watched years ago where a nurse recalled a London hospital with a WARD full of under tens with VD… nothing like that exists today!
Immigration, yes, again an issue but remember the Notting Hill Race Riots against West African Immigration took place in 1956 and Mosley was still active then. The real issue is that people can now move much more easily around the globe than they used to be able to and are exploiting that freedom to head for countries where you can have a better lifestyle -well, I would, wouldn’t you?
I completely agree with you on manufacturing though. Thatcher destroyed the heavy industry, after decades of state mismanagement and workforce obduracy in some cases, and mortgages our future to the ‘service economy’. We saw the effect of that in the financial meltdown of 2008 and the COVID era. We suffered more than those nations that do still maintain an industrial base, but let’s be honest, British goods had gained a reputation for shoddiness and poor quality anyway.
The biggest fault of governments to me is the failure to maintain a proper educational system. I was a grammar school boy, but hold no candle for the system, but the old technical education route no longer exists, with more and more graduates in strange and esoteric subjects joining the ranks of the indigent unable to find work.
I think your final couple of paragraphs are bang on, but I can’t agree with the idea that there ever was a better time. The problems were just different but often it was in addressing those issues that the seeds of our current dilemma were sown?
Thanks for this well-argued response.