MAGGIE AT FAIR

Prime Minister Mrs Margaret Thatcher displayed a great sense of humour when she told Conservatives in Hendon Lane that she had forgotten what she was there for. That was after she had received a resounding welcome from members of the Finchley and Friern Barnet Conservative Association at their autumn fair on Saturday.

She gave her audience in St. Mary's church hall an impassioned speech on Tory policy. After talking for several minutes and being loudly applauded, she said: “I forgot to open the fair!”

On the economic situation Mrs Thatcher said: “No nation can live beyond its means any more than a family can live beyond its means.”

She said those who encouraged people that all one had to do was ask for more and there was a crock of gold under every Morning Star were unsound and morally reprehensible, and any nation that lived like that commanded no respect in the world.

The Prime Minister said the country needed a government of reality, which meant seeing a bit further than the tip of the end of the nose. It meant taking the necessary decisions to put the country back on its feet with the prospect of competing with its neighbours as it used to, she said.

“This is the course the Conservative Party has embarked on,” she said, “and with the help of the nation we shall succeed.”

Mrs Thatcher received loud cheers when she said she could not stay long because she had to go to the Conservative trade unionist conference in Nottingham.

She said there were a lot of Conservative trade unionists at the moment, and they were the people who were giving a day's work for a day's pay, who were trying to introduce the secret ballot and not bring people out on strike when they did not want to strike.

Councillor John Tiplady, chairman of the association, welcomed Mrs Thatcher to the fair.

He said: “Last year we were here lamenting that James Callaghan did not have the courage to go to the country. This year we have everything as we like it. Over the last six months things have happened. We have had strong leadership and promises have been carried out.”

Mrs Thatcher, who is MP for Finchley and Friern Barnet, then went round all the stalls. She was accompanied by her husband, Denis.

The fair raised £1,200 for party funds. About 500 people attended.