Rt. Hon. Mrs. Margaret Thatcher
We're coming to the moment of decision. As the tumult and the shouting of the last few weeks die away and you sit at home wondering what to do on Thursday I can well imagine you saying to yourselves, “If only the politicians would be quiet. If only we could sit peacefully for a few minutes and think about our country and its future and the decision you're asking us to make.”
I know how you feel. The decision is crucial. The problems facing Britain are very grave. I can't remember when our people have approached an election quite as thoughtfully as this one.
We've tried to fight an honourable campaign; to put before you truthfully the choice this country faces. That choice will decide who governs Britain for the next five years. It may also decide what sort of country our children and grandchildren grow up in. When all the other questions have been argued and debated in the papers, on radio and on television, there's only one that really matters in the end. What's best for Britain?
Whichever party we belong to, or even if we belong to no party at all, most of us would agree that things have not gone well for our country in the last few years. Oh, there's still plenty to be proud of, plenty to admire and to cherish. But a lot of things we used to take for granted seem to be in danger of disappearing. Money that keeps its value. Real jobs that last. Paying our way in the world. Feeling safe in our streets—especially if you're a woman. Hospitals that long to give the service that they used to; schools which gave children from modest backgrounds, like my own, the chance to get on in life as far as we were able.
So much has been threatened lately. So much that used to be sure is sure no longer. So when our opponents say, “The Conservatives want to change things,” I answer, “Yes, we do. And for the better.” If ever there was a need for change it's now. I don't mean sudden change and I'm not talking about trying to bring back some nostalgic version of the past. I don't want to look back tonight anymore than you'll be looking back when you vote on Thursday. You'll be thinking of the future and how it can be better, and which of the parties is more likely to make it so. [end p1]
Let me tell you how I see it. I've never believed that this country is a naturally socialist country. We're an independent people; we don't take easily to having more and more of our lives decided for us by the State. We don't take kindly to being pushed around. We're good neighbours, concerned for the welfare of others. We regard it as a privilege to say to the old, the sick, the needy and the disabled— “Don't worry, we'll look after you.” But we believe that those who are strong and healthy and active should be encouraged to get on and make a success of things for themselves. Many of our troubles stem from the fact that in recent years we haven't been true to ourselves; true to our tradition of independence—largely because we've been encouraged not to be. It hasn't paid to work harder or try to do better for the family. Sometimes it hasn't paid to work at all.
That's had its effect right through the country, so instead of sharing out the proceeds of success, we've taken to fighting over how much we can afford from failure. Now none of us is so naive as to believe that cutting taxes will, by itself, suddenly transform everything and make our country prosperous overnight. But what we do believe is that there's all the difference in the world between creating a society in which it pays to work and creating one which it doesn't. Only by becoming prosperous again can Britain become a genuinely caring society, which is why we think that our way—not our opponents'—is truly “the better way.”
I think that most of you who know their record know that too. There's a long tradition in this country that everyone is equal under the law. Indeed, a lot of our history has been about seeing that those who acquire great power are not allowed to abuse it. Trade unions today have a lot of rights, but not enough duties. I don't think that many people can take an honest look at our industrial relations and say that we can go on year after year tearing ourselves apart. I am sorry that our offer of support for the limited but essential union reforms was turned down by the Government last winter. So we shall have to carry them through ourselves. Our proposals are modest and strongly supported by the nation, including the vast majority of trade union members. I've no doubt whatever that no matter what they may say during an election the unions will accept the democratic will of the people, especially when the moderate majority make their voice heard, as I hope they will on Thursday.
We want to create a society which is open and free, but to protect that freedom in a more and more dangerous world we've got to keep up our guard. Surely if the 1930s taught us anything they taught us that? The right response to increasing Soviet strength is not increasing British weakness. We shall make sure that Britain's defences are up to strength and that the first duty of any government—the defence of the realm—is ensured.
Now, no one in my position, asking for your support, your understanding, could be unaware of the responsibility that I am asking you to give me at this moment of decision for our country. To that I should perhaps add the fact—and if I don't a lot of others will—that this is the first time in our history that a woman could, after Thursday, be holding the highest political office in our national life. [end p2] It's never happened before. And I know that despite all the changes in our society there are some who still feel a little bit uncertain about it. I also know that there are others who would welcome it. I've always believed that what matters in politics, as in the rest of life, is not who you are, or where you come from, but what you believe and what you want to do with your life. What matters are your convictions.
So, as we approach the end of this campaign, I want to tell you the thoughts and feelings that will guide me in government if you place your confidence in the Conservative Party on Thursday. Let me give you my vision. Somewhere ahead lies greatness for our country again; this I know in my heart. Look at Britain today and you may think that an impossible dream. But there's another Britain which may not make the daily news but which each one of us knows. It's a Britain of thoughtful people, oh, tantalisingly slow to act yet marvellously determined when they do. It's their voice which steadies each generation. Not by oratory or argument but by a word here or there; a sudden flash of truth which makes men pause and think and say, “That makes sense to me.” That's how the foundations of fairness have been built up in this country, brick by brick, layer upon layer. In that way the law has grown, bringing to each age what seems reasonable and wise and true. Today, if you listen, you can hear that voice again. It calls not for upheaval or conflict or division; it calls for balance; for a land where all may grow, but none may grow oppressive. It's message is quiet but insistent. It says this: Let us make this a country safe to work in; let us make this a country safe to walk in; let us make it a country safe to grow up in; let us make it a country safe to grow old in. And it says, above all, may this land of ours, which we love so much, find dignity and greatness and peace again.