Tory leader pleased by welcome at Ford's

Despite a decision by workers' conveners to decline an invitation to meet her, Mrs Margaret Thatcher had a cordial reception from employees at Ford's Halewood factory during her tour of Merseyside yesterday. She toured the transmission plant at what Mr Thomas Smith, the plant manager, formerly of The Black Watch, referred to as “light infantry pace” . She spoke with about fifty employees, and surprised her entourage by jumping into a test car and driving it up and down a factory aisle.

Asked about the apparent contrast between a frosty statement made on Radio Merseyside by Mr David Routledge, the deputy plant convener, to the effect that her visit was a political gimmick and should be ignored, and her actual reception, she said: “I have seen a tremendous lot of people and I am very happy with the welcome.”

She said she wanted to leave trade unionists, such as those at Ford's, alone to get on with their dealings with their own management.

“I have met a lot of people here who say they think they have got a good management and who want to be left alone to work for a good firm which makes a good profit.”

In answer to reporters' questions, Mrs Thatcher returned to the attack on the Government's financial measures. She said high unemployment on Merseyside made it susceptible to damage from any loss of jobs resulting from the increased employers' national insurance contributions.

To run a job-creation programme and at the same time deliberately create unemployment was “a crazy way to run a Government” , she said.

Mrs Thatcher, in the company of Mr Ken Dodd, the comedian, unveiled a plaque in the “Tea and Politics Shop” , which has been opened by Mr Anthony Steen, Conservative MP for Liverpool, Wavertree, in Allerton Road, Liverpool.

She took a motor launch up the Mersey past the near-derelict south dock system, to Bromborough, which is in the centre of modern industry on Wirral.