Back to the '70s?

Rising inflation, soaring oil prices and an economy seemingly grinding to a halt: all characteristics of the economy in 2008.

But haven't we been here before?

Back to the '70s: see it and hear it

Back in the 1970s the country was experiencing exactly the same problems, which eventually culminated in the "Winter of Discontent" at the end of the decade.

Lord Bill Morris, then a new trade union official, and Lord Stanley Kalms, then the head of the electronics retailer Dixons, look back on the tumultuous year of 1975 and compare it with today.

LORD MORRIS

" If 1975 was a bottle of wine, I would describe it as a vintage year for me personally.

I was living and working in Nottingham in my first job as an officer for the Transport and General Workers' Union.

I used to drive my Ford Cortina all over the country visiting members in different companies.

It was a year of immense activity as public sector workers were getting agitated as inflation was rampant and interest rates were high.

Every morning we received letters and phone calls from members saying that they needed to secure higher wage increases as their standard of living went down.

There are some parallels with today, but there are also some fundamental differences.

Public sector workers in the 1970s could see their colleagues in the private sector getting better wage increases than them.

Recently we've seen the Shell tanker drivers striking for above inflation pay rises. While in the 1970's we saw the Ford workers striking over exactly the same issue.

We've also seen some telephone-number bonuses in the City in the last 18 months, while public sector workers have been limited to around 2%.

But while there are similarities in the economy, there are quite a few differences too.

Inflation in 1975 was rampant at nearly 27%, while today it is just over 3%.

Interest rates back then were very high, while today they are manageable. Unemployment was climbing in the 1970s, while today the unemployment situation is much better.

I also think today we are much more aware that one person's job loss today is another person's job loss tomorrow.

Back in the 1970s the UK was an uneven society. It's not as bad now, but there is still room for comparison. "

LORD KALMS

" When I look at back at Dixons' annual report from 1975 it's obvious what a tough time it was.

In my chairman's report at the end of the year I wrote: "There is no such thing as a really typical year, but the last one was particularly difficult and unbalanced."

It was horrendous running a business in those days and we all thought that society was out of control and that we were ungovernable.

While there were many problems, inflation was turning out to be the worst disease that industry could have.

When inflation is soaring you lose control of your costs completely and the only answer is to pass on the price rises.

We had no answer to the union's demands for wage increases of 20%, sometimes 30%. How can you have a society where wages are going up at that level?

I, as businessman, had no confidence in the government to deal with the problem - neither the Conservatives nor Labour had the answers.

Today we don't have anything like those problems, we all understand the need to keep inflation low.

The government is on top of inflation coming from this country, but like all governments it has no control over inflation coming from outside the UK in the form of high oil prices.

Moreover, the unions are not making unreasonable demands, and are asking for wage increases of just a few per cent.

The leadership of the unions is today, I believe, fundamentally responsible.

Looking at today we can get through this period of difficulty, but it does require certain disciplines from the government. "

RELATED INTERNET LINKS
Lord Bill Morris
Dixons
Opec
Office for National Statistics
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