> Crippling Pension schemes like final salary
Interesting. Final Salary schemes generally only became crippling as funding regulations were progressively lightened and removed during the Thatcher years. In allowing less investment, loaning back from the fund, funding holidays etc, many pension funds were hugely underfunded for a decade or two. Tied in nicely with wanting to promote personal pensions. Little surprise we then got the pension crises and failures, most notably Maxwell. More recently we had the pension miselling scandals and compensation claims stemming from this.
> Crippling strikes in '70s
Hah! Doing my A level homework by candle light. The unions absolutely had too much power in the 70s. Now they probably have too little, well nearer none. I remember the 3 day week and power cuts because the electric co was on strike. Every week someone else would be going on strike. I seem to remember even grave diggers went on strike in 78/79. A pony could probably have got elected wearing a Tory badge in 79 :)
With hindsight, the Thatcher "solution" was far too dogmatic, but much of the change was needed and backing away from the excessive taxation (80% top rate in 79). What's less well remembered is when Howe cut top rate in 79 from 80 to 60% he more than made up for it by doubling VAT and collection rates were far improved at 60% too, and again when they dropped to 50%. So tax take went up. Unemployment went from 1m to 3.5m (infamously they got elected in 79 with help from an election poster "Labour isn't working" [1]), and gave her the escalating welfare bill on which to squander oil revenues. Scotland and the industrial centres were hit especially hard under Thatcher which is why the Tories are unelectable there, even today.
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Labour_Isn't_Working