Speeches, etc.

Margaret Thatcher

House of Commons PQs

Document type: Speeches, interviews, etc.
Venue: House of Commons
Source: Hansard HC [949/968-73]
Editorial comments: 1515-1530.
Importance ranking: Major
Word count: 1999
Themes: Autobiographical comments, Taxation
[column 968]

PRIME MINISTER (ENGAGEMENTS)

Q1 Mr. Kilroy-Silk

asked the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for 8th May.

The Prime Minister (Mr. James Callaghan)

In addition to my duties in this House, I shall be holding meetings with ministerial colleagues and others. I shall also be meeting the northern regional council of the TUC.

Mr. Kilroy-Silk

Will my right hon. Friend take the opportunity today to give an assurance that neither he nor the Government will be deflected from continuing the fight against unemployment and inflation by the kind of cynical opportunism which was displayed by the Opposition last night? Will he give a further assurance that, if there are to be further Budget measures, the emphasis will be on increasing public expenditure and, therefore, creating jobs and not upon tax cuts for the rich, a large proportion of which goes into imports?

The Prime Minister

Yes, I give my hon. Friend the assurance for which he asked in the first part of his question. Concerning tax cuts, my right hon. Friend the Chancellor thought that he had gone as far as was prudentially correct, but the Opposition behaved with their usual irresponsibility last night. Clearly, the Government have to accommodate that as best they can. The Chancellor said that he would have to see how the situation developed. There are many uncertainties in the financial situation at the present time. But, if it is necessary for my right hon. Friend to take further [column 969]steps, he will have to do so. In the meantime, I note that once again the Opposition seem to be reverting to the fiscal irresponsibility that they showed between 1972 and 1974.

Mrs. Thatcher

If the Prime Minister thinks that 33p in the pound as the basic rate of income tax is irresponsible, why does he not take the only course possible to change that basic rate—namely, to put down an amendment on Report to reverse the decision and to treat that amendment as a matter of confidence?

Mr. Woodall

You put it down, if you dare.

The Prime Minister

That is a very interesting and extremely ingenious suggestion, which is what I expect from the right hon. Lady. I shall give it very careful consideration.

Mr. Bagier

When my right hon. Friend meets the northern regional council of the TUC this afternoon, will he explain that he fully understands that the real reason for unemployment in the region is of a structural character and that it can be put right only by public expenditure in the region? Will he further explain how the policy of the Opposition, including the Leader of the Opposition, could only damage that prospect?

The Prime Minister

It is clear that some of the older industrial regions, such as the North-East, the North-West, Scotland and Wales are having serious structural problems because of the decline of traditional industries, such as shipbuilding, steel, textiles, clothing and others. I think that this is well understood by the trade unionists who will be coming to see me, but, with respect to my hon. Friend, I think that they will be more concerned to discuss the ways in which we can get into the 1980s by means of fresh training for skill and bringing in new industries than to discuss the nostrums of the Opposition.

Mr. Ridley

Has the Prime Minister got time today to accept my congratulations on setting up an early warning system controlled by M15 and the counter-espionage section of M16 to combat growing Communist influence within the Labour Party? If he is prepared to use public money for this particular pur[column 970]pose, will he make sure that the results are also made public?

The Prime Minister

Congratulations to me from the hon. Member for Cirencester and Tewkesbury (Mr. Ridley) are rather like snowflakes in July. I am happy to accept congratulations on every occasion, but I fear that they will have to be on something a little more tangible than the fragile hypothesis on which the hon. Member framed them on this occasion.

SILVERTOWN

Q2. Mr. Spearing

asked the Prime Minister if he will make an official visit to Silvertown.

The Prime Minister

As my hon. Friend knows, I visited Silvertown last year, but I have at present no plans for a further visit.

Mr. Spearing

Does my right hon. Friend recall that Silvertown is in the middle of the Royal Docks, which, together with the West India Dock, the Port of London Authority now wishes to close? Is he aware that their closure would have a colossal impact on life and work in East London?

Notwithstanding the views of the PLA, can my right hon. Friend give an assurance to East Londoners that as part of the Government's inner urban policy, which is supported by the Opposition, they will examine every possible means of seeing how far these facilities can be maintained and used usefully so that they have a positive influence on the whole of the port and the whole of East London? Does he agree that any commercial criterion is doomed to failure because Continental ports receive support from their States and towns, which Londoners have never had?

The Prime Minister

I agree that the closure would have a serious effect. Docks have been closed in the past and, no doubt, will be closed in the future. But we must not underrate the effect of closures of this kind upon the life of the community.

I certainly undertake that the Secretary of State for Transport will examine every possible means of using these facilities for their present purpose or, alternatively, [column 971]of finding new uses for them. Commercial criteria must be the test against which facilities of this type are used. There will be no long-term future for this country if we continue permanently to subsidise facilities for which there are no uses. First, the chairman of the PLA must satisfy my hon. Friend and the Secretary of State for Transport about the prospects for these docks.

Mr. Penhaligon

If the Prime Minister is unable to visit Silvertown, is there any prospect of his visiting a tin village in my constituency?

Mr. Speaker

Order. The hon. Member knows better than that.

Mr. Tebbit

Will the Prime Minister change his mind and go to Silvertown? Will he explain to the people of Silvertown how he feels about being Prime Minister of a Government who cannot command a majority in the House even for fixing the standard rate of tax? Is it not time that he decided whether he likes office too much to have the decency to confess that he is no longer in power?

The Prime Minister

I should be happy to go to Silvertown. If the hon. Member went there with me, he would find that I received a better reception than he. I agree that the present situation is not satisfactory. That is why, whenever the call comes, I shall go for a clear majority for a Labour Government whenever I think it appropriate.

OPPOSITION LEADERS AND WHIPS (SALARY)

Q3. Dr. Edmund Marshall

asked the Prime Minister whether he will review the provisions of Schedule 2, part I, of the Ministerial and Other Salaries Act 1975.

The Prime Minister

The Government at present have no plans to review the provisions of Schedule 2, part I, of the Ministerial and Other Salaries Act 1975.

Dr. Marshall

That schedule fixes the annual salary of the Leader of the Opposition at £9,500. [Hon. Members: “Too much.” ] Does my right hon. Friend agree that since the present holder of that office has intervened on 294 occasions at Question Time and only six or seven of her questions could be described as posi[column 972]tively constructive, if her salary is to be reviewed she is not eligible for a productivity bonus?

The Prime Minister

The Review Body on Top Salaries said that our parliamentary system required a strong and effective Opposition. I think that the right hon. Lady earns every penny of her salary, considering that she is so much a one-man band.

Mrs. Thatcher

Is that not one more man than the Government have got?

The Prime Minister

I must say that on this occasion I should be willing to overlook the lack of productivity if only we could have an improvement in the quality of the questions.

PRIME MINISTER

(ENGAGEMENTS)

Q4. Mr. Shersby

asked the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Tuesday 9th May.

The Prime Minister

I refer the hon. Member to the reply which I gave earlier today to my hon. Friend the Member for Ormskirk (Mr. Kilroy-Silk).

Mr. Shersby

Could the Prime Minister find time today to study the results of the council elections in the London borough of Hillingdon, in which the Labour Party was smashed? Is he aware that one of the reasons for this debacle was the refusal of his party to sell council houses to the tenants who wished to buy them? Will he now instruct the Secretary of State for the Environment to take early steps to increase the discount which should be available to my constituents to buy their own homes, as a result of that election?

The Prime Minister

I shall pass on the hon. Member's suggestions to the Secretary of State. I do not know know whether it involves yet another increase in public expenditure. If it does not, that will at least help to salve some of the fiscal irresponsibility shown by the Opposition last night. I am quite happy to take last week's election results for what they are, if the hon. Member is.

Mr. Swain

I understand the irrelevance of the previous question, but will my right hon. Friend seriously consider [column 973]using his tremendous influence in the country during the next party political broadcast on behalf of the Labour Party to explain to the people what effect last night's amendment will have on the poor and the rich?

The Prime Minister

It is well known that last night's amendment can have no effect for the millions of people who do not pay the standard rate of tax, but, naturally, it helps everyone who pays the standard rate. If the amendments that we are still to discuss are passed, that will not only increase the irresponsibility of the Opposition but will increase materially the difference between the poor and the rich.

Mr. Hugh Fraser

Will the Prime Minister consult the Foreign Secretary in view of the report on the tape that one of the Falkland Islands has been occupied by the Argentine? Will he arrange for the Foreign Secretary to make a statement tomorrow?

The Prime Minister

Yes, I shall be consulting the Foreign Secretary about this matter. I understand that a protest has been made about the occupation of this island, which clearly is within the sovereignty of this country. I understand that the island is several hundred miles from the Falkland Islands, that it was unoccupied and has been occupied by what is said to be a scientific party. Clearly this is a serious matter. I shall certainly ask the Foreign Secretary to consider what the right hon. Member says.

Mr. Ashton

Will my right hon. Friend take time off today to listen to the broadcast after the Cup Final on Saturday, which the Leader of the Opposition attended as part of her one-man duties? Is he aware that when she was asked who the man of the match was, she said “The good-looking, blond-haired No. 10 for Ipswich, Trevor Whymark” , who was not even playing?