Page "Geoffrey Howe" Paragraph 8

At the end of 2011, the release of confidential documents under the UK Government's 30-year rule revealed Geoffrey Howe's thoughts regarding the Toxteth riots of 1981.

The papers reveal that he warned Mrs Thatcher " not to overcommit scarce resources to Liverpool ".

" I fear that Merseyside is going to be much the hardest nut to crack ," he said.

" We do not want to find ourselves concentrating all the limited cash that may have to be made available into Liverpool and having nothing left for possibly more promising areas such as the West Midlands or, even, the North East.

" " It would be even more regrettable if some of the brighter ideas for renewing economic activity were to be sown only on relatively stony ground on the banks of the Mersey.

" " I cannot help feeling that the option of managed decline is one which we should not forget altogether.

We must not expend all our limited resources in trying to make water flow uphill.

" Speaking in response to the release of the documents, Howe stated that he had not advocated the " managed decline " policy and that he had merely been warning of the danger of concentrating excessive resources on one area of need.