IN CUE: The Prime Minister though, has again been emphasising how important it is to control public expenditure. During a visit to Maidstone this morning, Mrs. Thatcher met representative of Kent district councils. And afterwards, in an interview with Martin Collier of BBC Radio Kent, she spoke about the reaction she had had to the government's plans to control local spending.
Thatcher
If you are naturally talking about rates, about the amount which both local authorities and governments spend, of what after all is tax-payer's money, and the amount that we have to take out of their earnings, and therefore the need to see that every pound is spent very well indeed because we're trustees for the people's money.
Collier
What were the main fears, Prime Minister, expressed to you by those you met?
Thatcher
Well they weren't expressing fears, they were stressing that they have been very careful in husbanding their resources; they look at every single programme—and so they should, because every single pound we take, we have to take from families or small businesses or bigger business. And often you know, one thinks well I wonder if they could spend [end p1] it better. So they are providing their services; they're looking at efficiency, and they're looking, as every authority should, at how to live within a budget. Now the housewife and the business have to live within a budget, and so must local authorities.
Collier
Kent, Prime Minister, is among those authorities concerned about your proposals for limiting rate increases. How determined are you to press ahead with the capping of the rates?
Thatcher
Oh absolutely determined. We fought the election upon it, and capping of rates—that is limiting the amount which people can be charged in rates—is very very popular with rate payers, with small business, with big business. After all, they're the people who pay, and they by paying more and more rates—if you're a housewife or a pensioner—that means you have less to pay on other things. In small business if the rates become too big it has to be added to your prices and can put you out of business. In big business if the rates are too big they can become uncompetitive. So of course you have to have rate capping and it is one of the ways of urging local authorities to see that they spend their money well.
Collier
But what about those authorities who already regard themselves as good housekeepers, and Kent presumably, will be among those?
Thatcher
Kent is a good housekeeper. Actually there are about 18 big over-spenders in the United Kingdom, really big over-spenders. And if those 18 had only spent the target, then on average there'd have been no increase in rates at all. So we're going for the special big spenders, but having a reserve power on the others. I think many many authorities like Kent would never come within suggestions of rate [end p2] capping because they look after the rate payers' money well. And so they should. This is the positive side. I see demonstrations about public expenditure cuts; just remember this: every penny that public authorities spend comes from the people, and I really think that we must never come to regard compassion as how big a hand governments and local authorities can put into the pockets and purses of the people, because you must not take so much away from them that they really then have to turn round and demand means tested benefits. We've got to keep that very much in mind. You know, people are much more careful with expenditure of their own money than some local authorities—not Kent