In 1970, Britain was facing many serious problems. The economy was weak, with slow growth, rising inflation, and increasing unemployment. There were many strikes by trade unions, which disrupted daily life and caused conflict with the government. Politically, the Conservative government under Edward Heath tried to control unions and improve the economy, but with limited success. Britain was also losing confidence as an international power, and many people felt the country was in decline.

This sentence uses a negative phrase to show how badly Britain was doing economically, which supports the writer’s argument that government policies had failed.

The writer uses a metaphor to show that socialism is very ineffective and harmful, which shows his negative opinion and tries to influence the reader.