Slumps/recessions

[ASHELLMA]

What were the causes contributing to the slumps/recessions in the (UK) early 1980s and 1990s?

[incitatus]

Various. The first one was kicked off by a set of oil crises and worsened by several monetary crises and industrial disputes. The conditions for recession were set up just as the Tory government took office and its rather ham fisted monetarist policies made things worse. The later busts were largely due to the Lawson (and later) booms, caused by the Chancellor overstimulating the economy, leading to overinflated stock prices and an unstable economy, which went belly-up all on its own.
The problem facing economists now is that after manufacturing industry was forced out of business in the 80s and 90s, we are now a service economy. This equates to parasitism in the natural world. The practical upshot of which is that when the host dies, we do too...