PRIME MINISTER
(Engagements)
Q1. Mr. John Evans
asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for 28 February.
[column 1560]The Prime Minister (Mrs. Margaret Thatcher)
This morning I presided at a meeting of the Cabinet. In addition to my duties in this House, I shall be having further meetings with ministerial colleagues and others.
Mr. Evans
Despite her busy schedule, will the Prime Minister find time to spare a few moments' thought for the forthcoming Moscow Olympics? Does she feel that Mr. Brezhnev 's reported interest in declaring Afghanistan a neutral State will enable British athletes to travel to Moscow? Will not that get the Prime Minister off the ridiculous hook on which she has hung herself?
The Prime Minister
We are naturally very pleased if Soviet Russia is considering making Afghanistan into a neutral State. However, we shall require more than words as evidence of its good intentions. We shall require the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan.
Sir Graham Page
Will my right hon. Friend find an opportunity today to congratulate those British Service men and policemen in Rhodesia who are having such success in ensuring a good turn-out at the elections?
The Prime Minister
I shall gladly do so. Indeed, I shall congratulate all those concerned with administering the elections. I am happy to report that they seem to be going extremely well at the moment.
Mr. Freud
In view of President Carter 's fine example in inviting the victorious American ice-hockey team to dinner in the White House, will the Prime Minister emulate that by asking Mr. Robin Cousins to have tea at No. 10 Downing Street?
The Prime Minister
I rather thought that he deserved more than that. Is the hon. Gentleman fishing for an invitation?
Mr. Hannam
Will my right hon. Friend ask the Leader of the Opposition today to use his influence with the TUC in order to persuade it to reverse its outrageous decision to boycott the financing of State-financed secret ballots?
The Prime Minister
I do not know that I have very much influence over the Leader of the Opposition. I shall gladly join my hon. Friend in requesting the [column 1561]TUC to withdraw that advice. It seems that most people would wish to take advantage of postal ballots that are paid for by the Government. In that way the TUC can ascertain the views of its members in a truly democratic way.
Mr. Whitehead
As No. 10 Downing Street appears to have been turned into a temporary ashram for the maharishi of monetarism, did the Prime Minister and her fellow disciples ask Professor Friedman yesterday what he meant by his statement that she has the right ideas but that she is not putting them properly into practice? Can it be that he wishes her to move towards the perfect Friedmanite state that is found in the military dictatorship of Chile?
The Prime Minister
If I may say so, I believe that the hon. Gentleman can do greater justice to himself than that. We had a very interesting meeting, which I was able to attend only briefly. On the Conservative Benches, we have an open mind on these matters.
Public Expenditure
Q2. Mr. David Atkinson
asked the Prime Minister whether she is satisfied with the present proportion of the gross domestic product which is spent by the State.
The Prime Minister
No, Sir. Our aim is to reduce it.
Mr. Atkinson
I totally agree with my right hon. Friend, but may I ask for her assurance that the Government will now be bolder in cutting public expenditure? Does she agree that they could perhaps even emulate the previous Labour Government, particularly the performance of the right hon. Member for Leeds, East (Mr. Healey) when he was Chancellor of the Exchequer between 1976 and 1978? The right hon. Gentleman reduced public expenditure by £6,000 million, which amounted to 8.5 per cent. Does my right hon. Friend agree also that the right hon. Gentleman did that not out of political conviction but because he had brought the country to the brink of bankruptcy?
The Prime Minister
I agree with my hon. Friend that we need to cut public [column 1562]expenditure further, and there will be another White Paper at or about the time of the Budget. I totally agree that if we are to restore the private sector we must stop draining money from that wealth-creating sector into the public sector.
Mr. Campbell-Savours
How does the right hon. Lady respond to the suggestion in the House and in the country that increasing numbers of Conservative Members are publicly dissociating themselves from the policies which she and her Government are pursuing, certainly with regard to the steel industry? Will she now in the national interest intervene in the dispute to bring it to an end?
The Prime Minister
With regard to the first part of the hon. Gentleman's question, perhaps he will await the result of the Division tonight. I believe that he will find that, as usual in this House, the majority will be right. With regard to the hon. Gentleman's suggestion that I should intervene in settling the steel dispute, as he knows full well, the word “intervention” usually means that the Government will provide more taxpayers' money. That I cannot do.
Mr. Best
When considering reducing public expenditure, particularly local authority spending, will my right hon. Friend have regard to cutting bureaucracy rather than services? Will she and her right hon. Friends look carefully at whether local authorities plan to cut services rather than administration costs?
The Prime Minister
I very much agree with my hon. Friend. It is a source of great concern that sometimes local authorities seem to find it easier to cut services to the public than to cut administration, which could often easily be cut without reducing the standard of services. We shall draw that point to the attention of all our local authorities.
Mr. Dalyell
What did the Prime Minister learn from Professor Friedman last night?
The Prime Minister
I am very sorry to disappoint the hon. Gentleman but I was present only right at the beginning of the meeting. As the hon. Gentleman will understand, I had rather a lot of other matters to prepare for today.
[column 1563]PRIME MINISTER
(Engagements)
Q3. Mr. Heddle
asked the Prime Minister whether she will list her official engagements for Thursday 28 February.
The Prime Minister
I refer my hon. Friend to the reply which I gave earlier.
Mr. Heddle
During the course of her busy day, will my right hon. Friend take time to reflect on the TUC's proposal to call a one-day national strike on 14 May, bearing in mind the damage that that will do to our economy and the disruption that will ensure in our daily lives? Does my right hon. Friend agree that the TUC leadership would do well to listen to the chorus of opinion that is growing daily among its members and their wives, who wish to express their right to work rather than blindly obey the diktats of Congress House?
The Prime Minister
I am grateful to my hon. Friend. I totally agree with him that such a day of action would do no good to British trade unionism, British industry or the reputation and standing of British goods and services abroad.
Mr. Faulds
Will the right hon. Lady find time today to instruct the Governor of Southern Rhodesia that, after the elections are declared, he must summon to form the Government of Zimbabwe the man who has won the most seats?
The Prime Minister
No, Sir, because that it not quite the constitutional position. [Hon. Members: “Oh!” .] That is not quite the constitutional position, unless one party wins a clear majority, the constitution requires the Governor to appoint whoever, in his judgment, is best able to command the support of the majority. It is for the leaders of the parties, and not the Governor, to decide what coalitions to form. That is the constitutional position.
Mr. Churchill
Will my right hon. Friend find time today to consider the plight of the people of Cambodia? Is she aware that for a nation of 4½ million people there are only 56 doctors in the entire country, and that all outside assistance has been refused by the authorities in Pnom Penh, apart from a 10-man Soviet team, which is but a drop in the [column 1564]ocean? Is she further aware that the International Committee of the Red Cross says that up to the end of last year, of the 40,000 tonnes of relief supplies that it delivered to Pnom Penh, only 2 per cent. were distributed? Will she make representations to the United Nations and also the Soviet Government, who are financing the Vietnamese occupation of Cambodia to the tune of $2½ million per day?
The Prime Minister
I shall, of course, look further into the matters revealed by my hon. Friend. I thought that the relief operation through this country and the EEC was going well. In view of the new points that my hon. Friend raises, I shall look at the matter again.
Mrs. Renée Short
Is the Prime Minister aware that the Secretary of State for Social Services said that the Government had taken no decision about changing the method of paying social security benefits? Will the right hon. Lady take the opportunity categorically to deny that the Government have any intention of changing the system?
The Prime Minister
I believe that what the hon. Lady is asking is that, if they wish, retirement pensioners can continue to have their pensions paid weekly through a post office. I agree that that is right. However, if others want theirs paid through a bank at, say, fortnightly intervals or at periods less than quarterly, they, too, should be able to make that choice.
Mr. Moate
Is my right hon. Friend aware of the Treasury answer which shows that in this calendar year our net contribution to the EEC budget will not be the often-quoted £1 billion, but £1.3 billion? In her efforts to secure a broad balance, will my right hon. Friend ignore the faint-hearted, wherever they may be, and recognise that she will have the full-hearted consent of the people in whatever action is necessary to secure her objective?
The Prime Minister
I am grateful to my hon. Friend. It is true that unless we get a settlement of the budget problem, our net contribution looks like rising. That is why it is so important not only to get a settlement for next year, but a formula that will affect future years.
[column 1565]Rhodesia
Q4. Dr. Edmund Marshall
asked the Prime Minister whether she plans to meet the Governor of Zimbabwe-Rhodesia in Salisbury.
The Prime Minister
I have no plans to do so.
Dr. Marshall
In the light of today's reports that a request may be made for the Governor to continue in Salisbury to help the new Administration achieve stability, will the Prime Minister indicate the Government's attitude to that suggestion and what legislative and other steps would be necessary if it were adopted?
The Prime Minister
One would naturally not expect the Governor to leave before independence, but we would not expect him to stay very much after that.
Mr. Latham
Does my right hon. Friend agree that it is heartening that the first steps have been taken to merge the various armed forces in Rhodesia, and that the Governor and others involved deserve considerable congratulation?
The Prime Minister
I entirely agree with my hon. Friend. It is extremely heartening. When I think of the number of complaints and criticisms that we have had over this difficult period, I believe [column 1566]that the Governor deserves our congratulations even more on the way that he has brought Rhodesia to a state where the country can have free and fair elections.
Mr. Alexander W. Lyon
Will the Prime Minister tell us where her constitutional advice comes from? Does she accept that the constitutional practice is always that, where the leader of the party with the largest number of seats in any Parliament is in a position to begin negotiations, he should be called on first to decide whether he can form a coalition? Only if he cannot is someone else called upon.
The Prime Minister
I am advised that the Governor has to judge who is the person most likely to be able to form a government. Forming coalitions is a matter for the parties themselves. If, of course, there is a majority, the question does not arise.
Mr. Peter Bottomley
If my right hon. Friend goes to Salisbury there will be two members of the Cabinet there. If there were a nuclear war, and if there were 17 command centres with one Minister for each, who would be the three Ministers to draw the short straw?
The Prime Minister
My hon. Friend may rest assured that those matters are always thought about and that there are always a number of Ministers present in Britain to deal with any emergency that may arise.