Mr Chairman, I have in fact been briefed about the Club, and I am told that it is the oldest Press Club in the World; 1865—and so your system and the one which you have developed here came long before the universal franchise to which I belong. I am told that it was started up for literary recreation, so I suppose times have changed a bit. But it is a very great pleasure to be here, and to have been to a number of other Clubs which have followed your example.
I am also particularly happy to be back in Birmingham. I say “back in Birmingham” because I was here on the occasion when the announcement came that we were not going to have an Election, and the then James CallaghanPrime Minister took a Ministerial broadcast to say so. That was the news that was not the news of the week. And I remember going to Pebble Mill to do a broadcast from there—to do the reply from there—and as most of you Birmingham people will be very happy to know, I told the BBC London that in future I would far rather do Ministerial broadcasts from Pebble Mill because they look after you so much better. I have been trying with BBC London—I must have a go at them—to persuade them to provide flowers, for years, and they never never would. They don't understand that women politicians like flowers. (Incidentally, you needn't worry about being photographed with me. I am not called a woman, I am a politician—and that's the difference—so please don't worry: and Pebble Mill has them.) And we went to visit one of your papers, and even they were taken in, because they had the headlines already written up, and it was to be October 22 or October 29, and it wasn't either. But as a matter of fact, Mr Chairman, it is as well that it wasn't because when it did come, we won with a bigger majority. You might not be prejudiced, but I am. So I think it was really a very good occasion.
Now I am particularly happy to say a few words in Birmingham as one of the industrial and commercial centres in Britain to which we are looking for so much in the revival of the prosperity of Britain. For the first time—those of you who belong to industry and commerce—for the first time for many years you have nearly got all of the freedoms. I say nearly. There are still some planning obstacles and a bit of bureaucracy that we must get rid of. But now, for the first time, you can fix your own wages and salaries according to the skills you need to work for you. You can determine your own price constraints by competition—perhaps the greatest constraint of all, and the one which acts most effectively for the consumer. And also to those people who will lend you money to set up in new technologies and new industries. You can in fact determine your own dividends. Now this is a heady dose of freedom and every freedom implies a responsibility. And I well remember one of the sayings of George Bernard Shaw. (Not always my favourite literary person or politician, although he is always very very pithy.) He said, however, every freedom implies responsibility. That is why so many people are frightened of it. Well I hope in Birmingham we are not going to be frightened of it. We are going to take the opportunities it affords and use them. It will take some time to turn around the attitudes, but when they are turned round, I believe there is scope for a very great advance.
I also understand from your Birmingham Chamber of Commerce and from some of your industrial people that they are very pleased [end p1] that now the IDC policy has changed we can actually get expansion in Birmingham of some of the factories that would like to expand here, and we wish them well. Now it is no accident really that I should extol the virtues of free enterprise for I am among the press people. Because you could not in fact have a free press without free enterprise and I am always interested in the number of people who extol the virtues of freedom without having anything to say about the underlying economic organisation necessary to keep that freedom. You would not keep political freedom. You would not keep freedom of speech, freedom to print what you wished, unless below that you had economic freedom. You would not keep the freedom of the press if we politicians got stuck in. I am the sort of politician who does not get stuck into the press. I am grateful for the freedoms they enjoy. That is not always the case with some others, who say yes, we are for freedom of the press, but we don't want any variety or any commercial press—which in fact is the only way to keep a free press and to keep the great variety.
So we have the great industries and the great commercial enterprises here today who will keep a free press going by their advertisements and also serve too, as you do, the consumer.
And now I come to the third thing—the photographers. Well, I really have had quite a lot of experience of the press photographers, and I must tell you they are very nice people. We travelled—they are very nice people—around with about 80 or 90 during the Election. I must say all the film companies and the Japanese camera companies must have done very very well. Because I have never seen so many. But they were with us all the time, and I remember the night of the Election. We left Central Office finally about quarter to five to try to get some sleep. I went home and there was still a posse of cameramen outside, and I said to them “you can go home, I am not coming out until quarter to eleven the following morning” . So they all went away and another lot came at 7 o'clock. So I got practically no sleep that night, as one had to go out and try to satisfy their demands for pictures.
Now I am very sad and sorry that I didn't make picture of the year. I think I could have done one with the caption on it “It's in the bag” . I certainly think some of my opponents could have done one saying “Hitting the wrong note” . But we didn't make the picture of the year. Perhaps it's as well, because I know what you photographers do. Whenever I can, I always look very carefully to see where I am treading, so that I don't do a Gerry Ford. You know, slip, and there would be a cameraman just ready, in fact, to catch a picture of one in an embarrassing position. So perhaps it's as well that I don't. But I do pay a very warm tribute to the tremendous skill and artistry which those who are photographing for the press exhibit. I think some of these examples in front of us are absolutely marvellous, and you know and I know that they would not sell half as many papers or magazines without you. So many, many congratulations. You not only help to sell the papers, and magazines, you help us as politicians to get across the message, and you also—you help in two ways—first to get across our message to the people, and perhaps even more, to get across the people's message to us. And without that, we wouldn't get it right. [end p2]
So it's wonderful to be here in the oldest Press Club in the presence of many many industrial enterprises and press enterprises, to pay tribute to the artistry and the expertise not only of the journalists but of the cameramen.
We wish you well.