1978 -2013 THE END OF AN ERA

Its strange how events often bring a sense of symmetry to things, as I prepare to leave Local Government after 34 years next week Ive been clearing out some old papers. The first thing I found was my letter of appointment as a Student Environmental Health Officer by the London Borough of Barnet at a salary of 3,600 per annum. Now before you think Im going into young people today mode that was the equivalent of about 14,500 today. Considering a lot of student EHPs have to pay their own way these days that wasnt bad at all, it certainly allowed me to buy plenty of cheap vinyl most of which is still lovingly stored in the study. Anyway I digress and back to the original point. Eight months after I took up my post Britain underwent what many considered its biggest political change in centuries when Margaret Thatcher the MP for Finchley took over at Number 10. Despite the fact wed lived in her constituency since I was five the only time Id really come into contact with Mrs T was when she visited our school as Education Secretary. My only judgement on her then was she wasnt a patch on Cliff Richard or James Burke who were our only other celebrity visitors. My mate John Laskey had got me Cliffs autograph and James ( who was Raymond Baxters sidekick on Tomorrows World) had personally signed my book with a big grin. There was no getting anywhere near the Iron Lady who was whisked away by a team of minders before I could get my pen out of my pocket.

Starting my career as a Student EHO as she was starting hers as Britains first female Prime Minister we had a few things in common. Piles of rubbish was one. She had to sort it out after the winter of discontent and I accompanied Whispering Eddie Parnell (so called because of his quiet voice) to inspect the rotting piles in council car parks with the aim of keeping the rats and smells at bay. To be fair we both had a bit of success there, although looking back it was to have more dire consequences for the country rather than the threat of rodents to the residents of New Barnet.

1981 was a big year my salary doubled as I became a fully fledged EHO and Maggie had riots to deal with. The one in Broadwater Farm Tottenham was particularly relevant as only a few months before wed been taken round the estate by our eccentric Housing lecturer Frank Walker. The other thing I noticed for the first time was the threat of unemployment. Up until then it was simple become a student, qualify, be given a job. The start of the squeeze on Local Government which hasnt eased throughout my career though dictated now some of my college mates were being told there was no money to keep them on. As nationalised industry started to fall into private hands what had started as a noble attempt to pursue a career being of service to the community began to be seen as less and less worthy. Suddenly my mates were all off getting better money because they were helping the economy and I was working for the council. Strange but that stigma has never really gone away and certainly it was clear at the time that the new occupant of No 10 had little time for Public Servants.

She also didnt have any time for coal miners. Another connection appeared when 6 months before the miners strike I went down a pit at Owlerton in Nottinghamshire. It was an amazing experience and one that Ive never forgotten. It gave me massive respect for those men who spent their entire working lives in such terrible conditions, often dying of horrible occupational diseases as a direct result. The community could easy have been hostile to a bunch of soft southerners on a pollution course but they welcomed us with great hospitality and friendship. 6 months later the heart of that community was ripped out as the first death on a picket line occurred at the same pit at Owlerton.

The end of an era came for the first time in 1986 for me when I left London to take up a job in Hertfordshire. While I was acclimatising to new surroundings and the fact that life in the

country was certainly not as turbulent as it had been on the streets of West Hendon the PM was having another go at Local Government with the infamous poll tax. Again it all became about budgets and savings as the future looked uncertain. To be honest both of us made a big mistake at that point I found the new life too slow and she found out that the people had had enough. 1990 was the next stop, a good move for me to Welwyn Garden City where I stayed for 23 years for Mrs Thatcher it was the end of the line as she resigned. Her influence though was still felt for a couple of years as Local Government hit another cash crisis and I was greeted by my two Principal Officers one Friday lunchtime with the words let us buy you a drink as weve just been given the bullet.

Looking back on my career in Local Government most of it has been shaped in one way or another by Mrs Thatcher her policies live on in the current administration who have again encouraged the rift between private and public sectors. In 1978 the question for Environmental Health Officers was how can we help? In 2013 its changed to how much does it cost? Maybe thats a fitting tribute for a lady Prime Minister who once famously said there is no such thing as society. Many claim the quote was taken out of context but with broadening health inequalities, unemployment, and benefit cuts it seems chillingly applicable to modern Britain.

And so we have both come to the end of an era, ironic that my first day out of Local Government will be the day Mrs Thatcher is laid to rest. From my own experience its clear history will remember her for the profound influence she had on everyones lives. Whether that was for better or for worse only you can judge.