Conservative party has yet to learn the lessons of 1980s unemployment

It is good to see a couple of Tory grandees from the 1980s warn of the danger of returning to the mass unemployment of that era (Tory ministers from 1980s fear return to mass unemployment, 7 July). I sadly recall that many Thatcherites in that dismal decade embraced high unemployment as integral to their economic and industrial strategy. It served to weaken trade unions, encouraged workers to accept lower wage increases (or even pay cuts) for fear of joining the dole queues, tilted the balance of power in the workplace towards employers, and meant that many workers were cowed into accepting worsening terms and conditions. If they objected, they were warned that there were 3 million people queueing for their jobs – notwithstanding the other disgraceful Thatcherite claim that the unemployed were workshy.

It was also during the 1980s – largely as a consequence of these deliberately engineered shifts in workplace power – that the seeds were sown of today’s obscene levels of inequality. Yet even today, many Tories still accuse workers and the unemployed of being lazy and responsible for their poverty.
Pete Dorey
Bath, Somerset

• Former Tory ministers Tom King and Norman Fowler are warning the current Tory government to learn the lessons of the the 1980s. As one of more than 3 million people on the dole in the mid-1980s, the main lesson I learned was that neither Tory governments nor their voters gave a damn about mass unemployment for at least another decade. Sadly, it seems that the Tory voters of the so-called “red wall” are destined to relearn this painful lesson at first hand.
Chris Webster
Gümligen, Switzerland

• When it comes to paying a wage for the proposed traineeships for unemployed 16- to 24-year-olds Summer statement: Rishi Sunak plans temporary job creation scheme for under-25s, 7 July), I assume the Conservative government of today will not be quite as mean as that of the 1980s. As a participant on the Youth Training Scheme (YTS) back then, one was paid just £25 for a 40-hour week, abysmal even then, with little or no prospect of securing a full-time job as a result. The YTS was soul-destroying, and a complete disgrace.
Stefan Badham
Portsmouth, Hampshire