General Election Press Conference

(1) BBC Sound Archive: OUP transcript

MT

Now you know it's been, our whole attitude has been to make positive policies, to make positive opening statements during these press conferences. We shall continue with that because in fact the election is about the positive policies for the next five years. Now unfortunately I think our opponents have concentrated on running scare campaigns. The reason is I think that scared parties tend to run scare campaigns.

Now I can't pick them all up. There are too many of them, but I would just like to say something about two particular scares. As you know on Friday it was said that we were going to double value added tax to 17.2%; Mr. … Geoffrey Howe issued such a modest, brief, succinct statement that it may have escaped your notice. It said we've no intention of doubling that to that amount. The second scare is that it's said that we're going to immediately increase the price of school meals by ten pence.

Now those two scares, er, which, er, have something in common. They both relate to things very similar to what the Labour Party have done. You remember that it was Mrs. Williams herself who increased the price of school meals by tenpence at one jump. The only Secretary of State for Education to do so. Whether she's thinking of doing it again and is tarring us with that brush, I do not know. You'll remember that the tremendous increase in value added tax and the increases in direct tax which Mr. Healey brought about were exemplified in his very, very first budget when he deliberately put 3.75%; on to the cost of living index, did not make any compensating reductions in direct tax, but also put up direct tax by three pence in the pound. And it seems to us that what they're trying to do is to tar us with some of the things of which they themselves have been guilty in the past.

Now I don't know whether the advice they've received from their own people is that the cost of their programme would mean that they would have to do that because after all they are intending to put, they are intending to increase expenditure on some 57 things, er, and it may be that they have received advice that those are the sort of increases that they would have to carry out. But I hope to goodness that they're not going to try to tar us who have different policies with those sort of increases which it seems to me would flow from their programme.

Now can I come, as we always do, and always shall, to the positive policies. With ten campaigning days to do, can I point out we are the only party that's put forward [end p1] positive policies to convert a sick economy into a healthy economy. An economy that's had the rate of inflation we have had over the past five years is a sick society, an economy that has not created genuine jobs—and this economy hasn't—is a sick economy. An economy that plans to go on like this is still a sick economy. We know that we have to change things, we cannot go on like this without any incentive in the economy, with people grasping at artificial jobs instead of the genuine, real jobs being created, and you might have seen over the Sunday press over the weekend how … [tape stops then resumes?] … example in the United States through small businesses. They can't come through the big businesses with the big technology, they'll only come through the small businesses by getting new ones started and by expanding small ones. That is the only way and that is the only hope for our young people if we're going to get genuine jobs, if we're going to get the expansion which other nations have had and which we haven't. We've been candid about our programme, does include tax incentives, does include reductions in public expenditure and Geoffrey has made speeches about that, it does, may include some switching, would include almost certainly some switching from indirect, from direct tax to indirect with compensating reductions in personal income tax. But it is a programme to convert a healthy economy …, to convert a sick economy into a healthy economy and unless we do that, then we think that the future for Britain is very grim indeed. [end p2]

(2) Thatcher Archive: CCOPR GE656/79 (extract):

Restoring a Healthy Economy

Mrs. Thatcher made clear that, despite Labour's scare tactics, she would not be diverted from putting forward the Conservative programme:

“I am fighting the Election Campaign on positive policies, to get fresh genuine jobs and positive policies to create prosperity …   . Let one Party at least fight the Election on positive policies to turn a sick economy into a healthy economy, to give opportunities to our young people, and to give opportunities to people to become home-owners that they have never had before.”

Prices and Pensions

Mrs. Thatcher said

“I don't underestimate the difficulty of getting inflation down and getting it turned round, particularly with the increases that Labour have got in the pipeline. The difference between our policies and theirs is first that we expect to be very much more successful on inflation and secondly, if VAT goes up, there will be compensating reductions in the personal rate of tax. …   . If prices go up, pensions go up. …   . Pensioners have no need to worry on that score. We have undertaken that pensions will go up, if prices go up, by the end of the year.”

Cutting Income Tax

Mrs. Thatcher recalled that the last Conservative Government cut the standard rate of income tax to 30p:

“We will hope obviously to do even better than that. We take the view now that we really do need far more incentive in the economy to make it worthwhile for people to work hard, to create new businesses and to expand them. Unless someone does that, does it positively and with determination, and I might even say with passionate belief that it has to be done, then I see no hope and I see no change from perpetual decline.” [end p3]

(3) Conservative Party Archive: BBC TV Campaign Report, 23 April 1979

Holmes

Mrs. Thatcher had breezed into the News Conference at Party Headquarters this morning and told us robustly that hers was the Party of positive policies. Policies to convert what she sees as a sick economy into a healthy one. But putting that emphasis on the positive side of things tended to show up the very cautious nature of the answers any attacking Leader has to give about the detail of their General Election appeal. Such an appeal is usually full on outline and political aim, not so full on detail. So it was today. Mrs. Thatcher questioned once again about how much VAT would need to go up to pay for Income Tax cuts—how much she saw her policies putting up prices? How much Income Tax would go down? She gave skilful but not very informative answers. She concentrated, instead, on how unirformative, even misleading, Mr. Healey could be about such things—and he had access to the books.

Mrs. Thatcher

Now, I haven't seen the books. We know our broad strategy and our broad policies. It's like a company taking over another one. No company Managing Director taking over another one, in his sane senses, would tell you exactly what he's going to do in each department. Of course he couldn't. He couldn't have until you'd seen the books, but he could tell you when a company was being wrongly run. He could tell you [end p4] what the strategy was to get it right. That's what we're doing. [end p5]

(4) BBC Television Archive: OUP transcript First extract

Questioner

… a Rhodesian election turnout of over 60 per cent?

Francis Pym

The electoral process isn't yet complete, and thereafter of course we shall have to assess it and we shall have to wait the report from the team of observers that we sent there. But I would say that this extremely matter is one of the top priorities for the incoming Cabinet.

Questioner

But do you find the 60 per cent, 63 per cent turnout an encouraging start anyway?

Francis Pym

Obviously it's an encouraging start, but it has to be assessed when the whole process is over and we have the evidence of what has happened and we can assess it.

MT

There you are, positive answer to your positive question. Now, next question.

Questioner

Mrs Thatcher, last week …

MT

Last week?

Questioner

Last week on television you envisaged that some prices would go up. Can you tell us which prices and which commodities will be affected?

MT

Well, prices have been going up for the last five and a half years and they've been going up even longer.

Questioner

As a result of your policy.

MT

But they have been going up. Mr. Healey in his first budget deliberately put up the cost of living by 3.75 per cent. Since then, under Mr. Healey, prices have risen by a further 101 per cent. At present, they are rising at the rate of nearly 10 per cent. But of course, remember that it's 10 per cent on double the price that there was when we came into power. So that 10 per cent on double the price is a lot more than our 10 per cent. [end p6]

Second extract

David Holmes, BBC

… to investigate prices at any time, not simply when an increase is asked for. Mrs. Thatcher, of course, doesn't think the Price Commission is at all, uh, is that much of a good thing. She commented today how ironical it was that prices had never gone up so much as when there had been a Price Commission. Her way of cutting prices is through more productivity and competitiveness. And at her morning conference she gave a pledge that she would produce results.

MT

Under this government prices have more than doubled, and so has tax gone up as well. They've got the worst of all records in performance. I can pledge you this—one of the few pledges I will make. At the end of five years, I will not have anything like such a bad record on prices as the Labour Government's had. At the end of five years, I will not have doubled prices as they have in their five years.