That’s true. When the government withdrew support back in the 80s there was little notice and no exit plan. It was like the withdrawal from Iraq, and the result was similar. Descent into disorder, in-fighting a breakdown of community, and ultimately a decimated, depressed area with no real future. Hopelessness and misery sit side by side, and local folk are easy prey for demagogues; in the case of South Yorks., ones like Farage.
Rather like when ” we ” left India, no proper exit strategy there and look at the resulting death toll, mind you it was also down to that good old mainstay of our world, religion but our government of the day knew what would happen and didn’t give a toss. Mountbatten took all the plaudits for basically being an utter a***hole, another disgraceful episode in our glorious colonial past.
