The Consumer 1980s and Ayckbourn as Social Critic

Britain never really recovered economically from the Second World War. Although the 1950s and 1960s were marked by full employment, wages remained low and billions of pounds were squandered in a futile effort to retain hold of rebellious British colonies like Malaysia and Burma. The economic situation splintered further in the 1970s. Crunched by a global recession and the OPEC oil crisis, inflation soared and the British economy staggered to a halt. Unemployment rose dramatically. The situation seemed to reach a crisis point during the so-called "Winter of Discontent" in 1978-79. Major unions launched wage claims and went on strike; the Labor government's thin majority disappeared; and the party lost a vote of confidence in the House of Commons.

When Margaret Thatcher took the office of prime minister in 1979, she vowed to subdue the unions—which she accused of crippling...