(Thanks to Chairman and Joan Seccombe.
Madam Chairman, who'd have thought in 1979 that this—our 59th Conference—would be taking place at a time when: —We are enjoying our eleventh year of Conservative Government; —We have won three General Elections in a row; —And we are sustained by a majority in the House of Commons of over a hundred.
And who would have predicted then that our standard of living now would be the highest in our history. [end p1] That the number of jobs in the United Kingdom now would be more than ever before. And that Britain's influence in the world would once again be riding high.
Madam Chairman, all these things have come to pass because we had the right principles, the right policies and the right people—and we still have all three. [end p2]
[Conviction Policies]
None of this could have been achieved without the staunch and devoted work of our Women's organisations up and down the country. It has been your sense of duty, of family life and its importance in the community that has helped to make our success possible.
When the Conservative Party goes into an election campaign—and we are now in the campaign for the European Parliament—we go flat out to hold seats and to win more. [end p3] We do so not for the sake of power itself, but because we want to put into practice the policies we believe in.
Over the years we have seen the opinion polls vary—sometimes up, sometimes down. But whatever they indicated, we never ceased to proclaim our true beliefs. We speak always with our own authentic Conservative convictions. [end p4]
Even our opponents admit this in a roundabout way when they try to disparage us for being rigid, inflexible or ideological. What they really mean is that we're consistent, firm, serious and successful.
Madam Chairman, we seek power to carry out our policies. Our opponents seek policies which they hope would carry them to power—whether they believe in those policies or not. —Even if it means standing on its head everything they have stood for for years. [end p5]
I can't remember the last time the British public was called upon to witness such a brittle combination of hypocrisy and cynicism.
When they say things just because they want your vote, how can there be any trust or confidence? A Party which goes so blatantly into reverse to get power would soon reverse back again if ever they got it. [end p6]
When Hugh Gaitskell fought unilaterism, he did so with passionate sincerity. You knew where he stood. He said what he meant and he meant what he said. Not so the current Neil KinnockLeader of the Labour Party.
I was going to say something about the Social and Liberal Democrats—if only as a matter of courtesy. But I have to confess, I've forgotten what it was. I've come to the conclusion that the area they occupy is in fact the Bermuda Triangle of British politics. For following the local elections, an entire political party vanished there! [end p7]
Madam Chairman, we in the Conservative Party are conviction politicians. We know what we believe. We hold fast to our beliefs. And when elected, we put them into practice.
It's this record of consistency in office which has attracted the grudging admiration of our political opponents and, more important, the steady support of the British people. As long as we remain true to ourselves, we will keep that support. [end p8]
[Strong Government Strong Economy]
We've always made clear our priorities. At present, it's defeating inflation. For Labour, 8 per cent inflation was unsustainably low. For Conservatives, it's unacceptably high.
We need a period of high interest rates to bring inflation down. And while the effects can be uncomfortable, the effects of continued high inflation could be much worse. And they would last longer. [end p9]
It has been our willingness to take the hard—sometimes painful decisions—which has made possible the great achievements of the last ten years:- —Seven years of continuous growth at a faster rate than any of our major European competitors; —More jobs as indicated—now over 26 million—than ever before; —Business investment at an all time high; —Income tax rates lower than at any time since the Second World War. [end p10] These are the facts, that is the record. A record which has enabled us not only to raise the standard of living of our people but to rebuild the very fabric of our nation.
Just compare our Conservative record with that of Labour's last Government: —Labour cut hospital building—we've increased it. —Labour cut investment in the water industry—we've increased it. —Labour cut the road building programme—we've increased it. [end p11]
So it's political fiction for Labour to suggest that under Conservative Government the public sector has been the poor relation of the private sector. The truth is that only when the private sector flourishes do we have the resources to spend on the public services. [end p12]
[The Labour Opposition]
Madam Chairman, we believe that the power of Government should be strong when it comes to the things that only Governments can do. But limited when it comes to the lives of ordinary citizens, because That's what personal liberty and human rights are all about. Labour believe in bigger Government and expanding bureaucracy—in our own country and in Europe. Last week, in their much touted policy review, they tried to convince the British electorate that Labour is modern, multilateralist and militant-free—at least in between Labour Conferences. [end p13]
But what is modern about Labour's plethora of Boards, Commissions and Councils?
A Labour Britain would have eight new ministries, including a Ministry of Women (dungarees only, no hats allowed). It would have new bureaucracies and new regulations at every level. And of course, contrivances such as: Labour's nationalised nation-wide British Investment Bank. [end p14] —Regional utility councils—whatever they may be. —Local quality commissions. —Specialist regional equality tribunals. And the body whose services every Labour Government needs above all—the Emergency Planning Inspectorate!
As David Coleman might have remarked: it's déja vu all over again. [end p15] Modern? These are the policies of 1960s socialism. A creed which thought that enterprise could be invented by boards. That economic growth could be created by commissions. This was Labour's world that led to inflation of over 25 per cent. Constant industrial unrest. And the arrival of the IMF to rescue a collapsing economy. [end p16]
Madam Chairman, the differences between us could not be clearer. Labour extend the power of Government and limit the liberties of the people. Conservatives limit the power of Government and enlarge the liberties of the people. So it's not surprising that Labour Governments run aground. Their policies are always about commissions, card-votes and controls. For theirs is the Party of the big battalions. They have little sympathy or understanding of what motivates people to work hard, to save wisely and to build for the future. [end p17]
Individuals are not motivated by some central master-plan or union solidarity. They are motivated by their desire to do well for their family. For a more abundant life—in their local community, their school, their firm, their country. These are the things which inspire and demand personal effort—even sacrifice. [end p18]
How alien this is to the class struggle of socialism: the flying pickets, block votes, work-to-rule and wild-cat strikes—regardless of the harm they inflict on their fellow citizens.
The truth is, central planning and detailed control don't work. Personal endeavour and initiative do. That's the lesson of history. And that's why we Conservatives believe that the strength of the nation lies in the talents, the abilities, and the efforts of its men and women. [end p19]
It's this philosophy that has transformed Britain and made it a more enterprising, more exciting and more generous country in which to live. [end p20]
[Extending Opportunities to the Inner Cities]
But, Madam Chairman, there are some who have not benefited sufficiently from the new opportunities we have created. You will recall that on election night I referred to the people who live in inner cities, To the tenants of soulless run-down housing estates, and pupils of poor and inadequate schools: It is these victims of socialism whom this reforming Tory Government wants to help. [end p21]
That's why our initiative on inner cities is encouraging enterprise where before there was none. It's already providing nearly 90 thousand people with either a job or training for a job in our inner cities.
Let me pay tribute to those company executives who have rolled up their sleeves, and devoted a share of their profits, energy and spare time to reviving inner city life and industry. And a special word of thanks to those who have promised their local school to provide a number of jobs to pupils—so long as their school work is up to standard. [end p22]
That's the sort of real personal contact and genuine interest which means so much to young people and is achieving good results.
And that's not all, Twenty new City Technology Colleges are being sponsored by business which has promised some £36 million. The young people in Birmingham, Bradford, Gateshead, Nottingham, Middlesborough, South London and many other places are being given new hope and rekindled ambition from the generosity of these far-sighted benefactors. [end p23]
[Health]
Madam Chairman, writ large on the banners of the Conservative Party is the well—being of the Nation. Shaftesbury, Disraeli, the Chamberlains—we follow in a great tradition. That's why better service for patients and better value for money lie at the heart of our proposals for reforming the National Health Service. I know that some people think it's wrong to mention money in relation to health. But there will never be an unlimited amount of money to spend on health care. [end p24]
For as the last Royal Commission on the Health Service pointed out: “We had no difficulty in believing the proposition put to us by one medical witness that ‘we can easily spend the whole of the gross national product’” on the health service. Today, with rapid advances in medical technology enabling people to enjoy a longer life, it's vital that the resources we put in do the greatest amount of good.
More money, spent more wisely, means more lives saved, more patients cured. [end p25]
We have spent more money. For every pound that Labour spent on the Health Service, we're spending three. More doctors and more nurses are treating one and a half million more in-patients and well over two million more out-patients every year.
The number of doctors and dentists has gone up by fourteen thousand, the number of nurses by seventy thousand and the number of other professional and technical staff supporting them by over twenty-five thousand. [end p26]
As a result, the average number of patients on a GP's list has fallen from 2,250 to 1,970. This year alone, the Health Service has been given a further two billion pounds, making a grand total of £26 billion. (Madam Chairman, It was £8 billion the day I walked into No. 10 Downing Street). This expenditure enabled us to give the nurses the best deal they ever had and to do more to look after patients. [end p27]
These are the facts, that is the record. We remain fully committed to the National Health Service. At the beginning of our White Paper, ‘Working for Patients’, we pledge “The National Health Service will continue to be available to all, regardless of income and to be financed mainly out of general taxation” . [end p28]
The philosophy which underlies our reforms is that those closest to the patient are best able to decide how the enormous sums we devote to the Health Service should be spent to do the most good. Contrary to what you may have been told, or heard on some radio and television programmes, a lot of those who work in the Health Service agree. For example, well over a hundred hospitals throughout the country have already expressed strong interest in becoming self-governing hospitals. [end p29]
Of course, there are some who don't want to take advantage of these new opportunities. Well fine. They needn't do so. But they also seem determined to deny the opportunity to those who do.
I expect some of you may have seen the recent series of advertisements in the national press. They seemed designed to play on people's fears. What's worse, they were misleading. So let me once again set the record straight. [end p30]
Under our reforms: —No hospital will be privatised. No hospital will opt out of the Health Service. Those major hospitals which choose—I repeat, choose—to become self-governing, will remain fully part of the Health Service.
Under our reforms: —No hospital will put profit before care for the simple reason that profit plays no part in our reforms. Health Authorities will still hold the purse-strings. They will be the Guardians who will ensure that the full range of services will be available for local people. [end p31] And when hospitals manage the resources more effectively, the savings will be ploughed back into more patient care.
Under our reforms: —No patient will be forced to travel long distances to obtain care. But if they wish to travel in order to get treatment faster, then our reforms will give them a real opportunity to do so. And I believe—as surveys have shown—that many of them will want to. Especially if a relative or friend lives nearby. [end p32]
Under our reforms: —No doctors will need to spend more time with the calculator than the stethoscope. On the contrary, those GPs who choose to have their own practice budget will receive an additional fee to help them to manage their practice more effectively. They will be able to employ a practice manager, leaving them free to provide a better service for the patient. —And no doctor will be prevented by lack of money from prescribing the drugs his patient needs. [end p33]
But let me quote you one thing from the advertisements: “For forty years the NHS has served the sick without discrimination. The elderly, the chronically ill and the asthmatic child have all received the treatment they need, be it simple, complex, cheap or expensive” .
On that I agree with the BMA—it would have been rather nice if they had said so before.
Madam Chairman, our reforms will ensure that this continues. Let no-one tell you otherwise.
And we shall have a service better able to satisfy the new demands that will be made upon it. [end p34]
Madam Chairman, this Conservative Government is building a National Health Service fit for the 1990s and beyond. A National Health Service of which we have every right to be proud. [end p35]
[Europe]
The election for the European Parliament is only three weeks away. Three weeks to persuade every one of our supporters to turn out and vote on 15th June. And I mean everyone. Let there be no mistake about it: —We are in Europe, and we are committed to it: we joined because we believe in it as a bastion of a free society. [end p36] The European Parliament has an important role in shaping Europe's future. —The choice is between a Conservative Parliament and a Socialist Parliament. At Present we—the Conservative and Centre-right parties—have a narrow majority. To ensure that Europe develops along the lines that have restored Britain to success, we need your vote to keep and increase, that majority. [end p37]
There are only two really important issues in this election:
First, who will fight hardest for Britain in Europe? And second, who offers the better vision of the Europe of the future? Let me deal with those in turn. Who will fight hardest in Europe?
When we came to office ten years ago, we said we would get a fairer deal for Britain in Europe. And we've done it. [end p38]
We've got a better deal for the taxpayer. Labour had negotiated arrangements which left Britain paying an unfairly large contribution. It was our Conservative Government which renogotiated those terms, getting back £5 billion for Britain since 1985 alone.
It was our Conservative Government which got a better deal for Britain's farmers and Fishermen, for Britain's businessmen, for Britain's air travellers. [end p39]
Above all, we got a better deal for the consumer and the housewife, by bringing down the food mountains, by setting ceilings for agricultural spending and by reforming the budget.
Indeed, I sometimes wonder who would champion the cause of the consumer in Europe if it wasn't for Geoffrey Howe and me. And Christopher Prout and our European members.
Yes, it has meant some heated arguments. Believe me, there is no place for shrinking violets, or indeed, wilting red roses when it comes to looking after Britain's interests in the Community. [end p40]
And there will be no shortage of battles to fight in the future: —We've got to see that there's a real common market in Europe—after all, that's why we joined in the first place. [end p41] That means ensuring others in Europe open up their markets to us just as we've opened ours to them. That means getting rid of all the hidden restrictions which so often apply.
And although we want to make it easier for Europe's citizens to move around Europe, that doesn't mean giving greater freedom for illegal immigrants, nor for terrorists, nor for drug dealers, nor for rabies and other animal diseases. [end p42]
As an island country, we must be allowed to stop all that.
Madam Chairman, to win these battles —as we have won so many in the past—calls for determination, experience and strong leadership. [end p43]
Only the Conservatives can provide that. Conservative Government and Conservative members of the European Parliament working together will ensure that Britain's views are respected and Britain's interests are properly served.
And the second great issue in this election: —who offers the better vision of Europe? —A vision in tune with our history, our traditions and our sovereignty. [end p44] —A vision which encompasses the policies which have brought Britain success and respect in the world.
The choices are clear. Let's deal with the Liberals first. Their views are quite simple: They want Euro-everything. A common European currency in place of the Pound sterling. A United States of Europe in which Britain's identity would be submerged. [end p45]
And, of course, Proportional representation so that Britain too can share the joys of indecisive and weak coalition government.
It's a measure of the Liberals' expectations in these elections, Madam Chairman, that their David Steelformer leader has chosen to be a candidate in Italy rather than Britain: I suppose that makes him the first Euro-carpet-bagger. [end p46]
And what are Labour fighting for in these European Elections? Quite simply for the Socialist policies which have been so over-whelmingly rejected in three General elections. Finding the front door closed, they are trying to creep in through the back. [end p47]
The way we Conservatives see Europe is very different.
We look at history, at the time when Europe and Christendom were virtually the same, at Europe's great contribution to democracy, human rights and the rule of law. At the spirit of adventure which led Europeans to chart the untravelled seas and discover unknown lands. Europe achieved that greatness not by uniformity but by its infinite variety and richness—and it is that diversity which we want to preserve. [end p48]
Our Countries are stronger when they work together. But each of us should continue to make our distinctive contribution upholding our great traditions and never forgetting that we are answerable to our national Parliaments. And in our case to the mother of Parliaments. [end p49]
We want to sweep away barriers to trade and enterprise, not to impose needless regulations and controls. We want Europe to liberate not to restrict, to compete not to protect, to harmonise not to standardise.
Our vision is of an outward-looking Europe, a Europe which is a force for freedom, democracy and free trade in the wider world, not a protectionist club behind high tariff walls. [end p50]
Those are the policies which you will find in our Manifesto, that is the sort of Europe for which Conservatives will be campaigning in this election. —A Europe of larger vision, larger heart and larger mind which leaves its citizens room to breathe. [end p51]
We have fought and won the battle for Britain.
Now we must win the battle to create our sort of Europe.
That is why it is vital to return Conservative Members to the European Parliament on 15th June. [end p52]
[Defence]
And another vital reason is Defence Policy. When it comes to that Labour has a new version of pass the parcel. Instead of unwrapping it every time the music stops, they put on an extra layer. They're desperate to hide what lies underneath. They hope that if the packaging is pretty enough—with a nice pink bow—the voters won't look too closely at the policy inside.
Let me tell you three things about it. [end p53]
First, it's misleading. Labour say they would fulfill Britain's responsibilities in NATO.
But in the next breath they say: —they don't believe in deterrence, —they don't believe in NATO's strategy of flexible response, —and they want to get rid of nuclear weapons as fast as they can.
In other words, they reject NATO's strategy completely. [end p54]
Second, Labour's new policy is dangerous for Britain. Nuclear deterrence has kept the peace in Europe for over forty years. Experience of two world wars shows that conventional arms alone do not prevent war.
So Labour's policy would mean a fatal loss of security for this country.
And third, their brand-new, well-wrapped defence policy is confused and contradictory. They say they would retain our independent nuclear deterrent as a bargaining counter in disarmament negotiations with the Russians. [end p55]
But then they say that, nuclear weapons would not be kept up to date; and that our fourth Trident submarine would be cancelled.
What they are really saying is that they would run down our deterrent before negotiations could even begin. What bargaining power would this give us with the Russians? None at all. They would only have to sit and wait, smiling—knowing that Labour would give it up anyway. [end p56]
Madam Chairman, Labour's Policy is disarmament by stealth. It's a way of achieving unilateral disarmament without having the courage to own up to unilateralist principles.
What is there to choose between that and the CND policies which Labour has hitherto followed? [end p57]
Not a lot. You see the Neil KinnockLabour Leader is still a member of CND. “But that's all right” , he says. “No problem. CND isn't a unilateralist organisation.” So for his benefit, let me read you the very first words of CND's constitution. “The aim of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament is the unilateral abandonment by Britain of nuclear weapons, nuclear bases and nuclear alliances” . unilateral abandonment! Not bilateral, not multilateral—unilateral. [end p58]
For once I agree with Mr Ken Livingstone, MP; He described Labour's new defence policy as confusion and waffle. And he's right. [end p59]
No wonder they want to keep it under wraps. A policy based on evasions is no basis on which to plan the defence of our country. [end p60]
[Conclusion]
Madam Chairman, friends and colleagues of the Conservative Party, you have never failed our Party when we have called on you for action. We do so now. Tell the people of this United Kingdom of our policies for Europe. Tell them what we Conservatives stand for and believe in. Tell them “if you want the Conservative vision and policies, vote Conservative” . Tell them “if you vote Labour, you'll be voting for a party which publicly adopts policies it privately abhors” . [end p61] Tell them, too, that to fail to come out and vote would be to help create a Socialist Europe for a full five years. We Conservatives are not alone in our campaign. Across Europe, we have a party called the European Democratic Union. I was one of those who helped to found it, even before I became Prime Minister.
For several years, we had watched the Socialist International grow unchallenged. We decided that the songs of liberty were far better tunes for the people to hear and to act upon. [end p62]
So we Conservatives and other parties of the Centre-right came together, first in Europe, later internationally, as we were joined by like-minded parties from the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Japan. And so today across the world, there are people who believe as we do—in freedom and the rule of law, and we're called the international democratic union. Our next electoral challenge comes in Europe. And when I go to the Conference of the International Democratic Union in September, I want to be able to say, along with our fellow European parties: “We had an election in Europe. We fought. We won. Because we believed.”