What has happened to "Essex man" in the 90s? The product of Margaret Thatcher 's economic policies of the 1980s, Martin Smith and his girlfriend Mandy epitomise many young people whose champagne lifestyle has suffered in the recession-hit 1990s. Encouraged to believe that when you saw the chance you should grab it, he had become a second-hand car dealer and she had set up as a mobile hairdresser. The 1980s... see more