INTRODUCTION

CONSERVATISM GROWS STRONG IN WALES

In April 1979, I opened the Conservative General Election campaign in South Wales. I called on those who had supported Labour to find a new political home with us in the Conservative Party.

At that election, we won an extra three Conservative seats in Wales. We turned half the political map of Wales blue. We shattered the Illusion that only the Labour Party could speak for Wales. [end p1]

In May 1983, I came as part of another General election campaign. In that Election, we won another three seats—to make a total of 14 members—not quite a rugger team, but the largest number for more than a century.

And here I am in South Wales again. It is a good feeling to be in a new Conservative constituency once covered by two Labour fortresses.

And we all congratulate Peter Hubbard-Miles on his splendid victory in last year's General Election. [end p2]

It has always been my conviction that the values we hold dear in the Conservative Party could and should find their echoes even in the heartlands of Socialism in the South Wales valleys.

Of course, we can't win every seat. But even in Cynon Valley—a Labour stronghold if ever there was one—our missionary zeal had its effect. Our candidate in that by-election, James Arbuthnot,—so widely liked and respected—went up to his SDP rival while the votes were being counted, suggested to him that his true destiny lay in the Conservative Party, and convinced him on the spot. [end p3]

That former SDP candidate—Felix Aubel—is with us today. We'll keep a particularly warm welcome in the hillsides for Felix—and for those electors in the Cynon Valley who supported him, if they will join us too.

Wales knows only too well the pain and the inevitability of industrial change. [end p4]

She needs a more varied industry and to be in the forefront of technological change. That's what out policies are achieving. It's a tribute to Wales that, with only five per cent of the national population, more than twenty per cent of all inward investment from overseas last year came here. [end p5]

We also attach the greatest importance to agriculture in Wales. Because those engaged in farming contribute so much to our economy, to the countryside and to our way of life.

I can tell you—because I am in a position to know—that nobody works harder for Wales than Nick Edwards, John Stradling Thomas and Wyn Roberts

The hard work of this team is bringing a stronger, more confident future to Wales. [end p6]

THE EUROPEAN ELECTIONS

It is barely a week since we fought the European Elections. Which Party won those Elections? Which Party won the most votes and the most seats? The Conservative Party.

From the press comment, you could easily be forgiven if you thought we'd lost. You would hardly believe that we won 45 seats to Labour's 32; and that we won half a million more votes than they did; [end p7] that we won by a bigger gap than the winners in seven of the last twelve General Elections: That we have now won two General Elections and two Euro-Elections—four successive victories.

Well, if that was a defeat, who needs victories?

But that doesn't mean we have any right to be complacent. The electorate gave us those votes for a reason. They expect us to go on fighting for a fair deal in Europe, and we shall, however, long it takes. [end p8]

THE COAL DISPUTE

Today we are in the fifteenth week of the coal strike. That strike is a tragedy. — A tragedy for those miners who are not working, most of whom have not been on the picket line hurling abuse or worse at the police, but are anxiously watching events from home. Many have lost £2,000 or more in earnings. Family budgets have been cut to the bone. And debts are piling up. [end p9] — A tragedy for the industry, in orders lost and in coal faces already abandoned or endangered. — A tragedy for the country. Steel workers here in South Wales know from bitter experience that customers lost in a strike are not easily regained. Indeed, some of them are lost forever. But not content with the lost customers for coal, the organisers of the strike want to turn away customers for steel. [end p10] If they succeed they will destroy jobs not only in the steel industry but in the coal industry which supplies it, in the railways which move between the two, and in the many smaller industries which are suppliers to all three.

This strike is a tragedy for another reason. Most miners wish to see a strong and prosperous coal industry for themselves, their sons and their familes. It is precisely what the Coal Board and this Government want—precisely what we are working for. [end p11]

We should be pulling in the same direction.

I remember vividly the first debate on the coal industry in which I spoke as a Member of Parliament in the House of Commons. It was soon after Aberfan. Who could ever forget it? The Gallery was filled with families, parents, relatives, trying to live with their agony.

I had worked hard on my speech—I had read every page of evidence to the Aberfan enquiry, tried to learn from others everything relevant to this great industry whose [end p12] people have a special kind of comradeship, a special sense of community and a special loyalty.

Every time we had a debate the MPs who knew the industry so well came into their own. I remember the wonderful speeches made by the much loved Jim Griffiths and also his colleague Harold Finch from Bedwellty—who always spoke of the terrible toll on the health of the miners. I remember speech after speech which recalled the difficult conditions in some of the pits in which these miners of Britain worked. [end p13]

Surely, I thought, it is possible to make things better—better equipment, better pits, safer and healthier conditions.

And then as fate, as chance, as hard work would have it, one bright day in May 1979 I found myself in Number Ten.

My colleagues and I decided to develop coal as an energy resource that would last for centuries, long after our North Sea oil and gas had gone. [end p14] We decided that despite all our difficulties over public expenditure, we would invest in coal to give better and more productive pits for a better future for the industry. [end p15]

THE GOVERNMENT'S RECORD

And so we have invested £3,800 million—that is £2 million for each and every day we have been in office—more than was called for in Labour's “Plan for Coal” . Did you know that last year we invested in Britain's coal industry almost twice the amount invested in the entire coal industry of the rest of the European Community?

But it is not just capital investment that is important. [end p16]

It is important also to understand the human problems of a community where closures of uneconomic pits have to take place.

There have always been closures. Over eleven years Labour Governments closed 330 pits—an average of 30 a year. Far more than we closed last year and far more than the Coal Board envisage closing this year. [end p17]

Successive Governments have recognised the acute difficulties faced by men and their families when closures do take place. But this Government has made far more generous provision for voluntary redundancy and early retirement than any other government of the past.

No wonder that over sixteen thousand men have already expressed an interest. The reduction in manpower needed can be made without a single compulsory redundancy. [end p18] In addition, NCB has established a new enterprise agency to help create jobs in the communities affected by closures. And as you heard from Nick Edwards earlier today, new companies are coming to Wales and new jobs are being created.

It is not only in investment and in the help given to those leaving the industry that this Government's record outstrips that of its predecessor. [end p19] The pay offer on the table will keep miners way above the average, something to which they traditionally attach great importance.

Many people in the industry acknowledge all these things. Two out of the three coal industry unions have not taken strike action. One quarter of all miners are going into work—and showing great courage in doing so.

Not only in Nottinghamshire—but also in Lancashire, in Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire, in North Wales. [end p20] And for the first time this week, in spite of all the difficulties and pickets they have to face, miners are at work in Scotland. [end p21]

The violence which has recently disfigured the television screen has left us grievously anxious at what is happening to our country. Law is the condition of civilised life and respect for law is the condition which enables men and women to enjoy their civil rights in freedom. If there is a right to strike, there is also a right to go to work. Picketing is lawful only when it seeks peacefully to persuade. [end p22]

It was Disraeli—a Conservative Prime Minister—who made that kind of picketing lawful. The TUC itself has stated that excessive numbers can lead to violence. The NUM itself has in the past laid down strict rules that the number of pickets should not exceed six. Beginning of section checked against BBC Radio News Report 1300 23 June 1984:

Mr. Chairman, What we have seen in the past few weeks is not picketing at all. It is an attempt by force to prevent others from doing what they have a right to do. (Applause). It is intimidation. It is unlawful assembly. [end p23]

The police are not partisan. But they have a duty, to protect ordinary men and women going about their lawful business. A duty which they discharge with courage, fairness, patience and restraint. (Applause). End of section checked against BBC Radio News Report 1300 23 June 1984.

Our duty is not discharged simply by condemning violence. Our duty demands, and the national interest requires, that we see that violence does not pay and is seen not to pay. [end p24] Let violence cease. Let the law be kept. That is the spoken and unspoken hope and wish of millions of our fellow citizens.

No-one can say just how, or precisely when, this strike will end, though end it will.

But I believe: — That most miners condemn the violence that is inflicted in their name; [end p25] — that most of them long to return to work and to live again their normal lives at work, at home, in their community — that the management wants only to build a prosperous coal industry for the future — that this Government and this people have confidence in that future and in the men who can build it.

The day will come when the strike is over. For all our sakes, let it be soon. [end p26]

THE CONSERVATIVE TRADITION

The vision, patience and peserverance we have to display in the miners' dispute is at the centre of our style of Government. For our purpose is to defend freedom and rebuild the vitality of this country.

From the moment we took office in 1979, this Conservative Government has adhered to our political beliefs and values. Values in line with our Conservative tradition, and in tune with the instincts of the British people. [end p27]

At the heart of our philosophy is our enduring belief in the importance of each and every individual.

It doesn't matter who you are or what your family is. It's what you are and what you can be that counts. [end p28]

EDUCATION

And nowhere is that more important than in the way we bring up our children. Conservatives believe in standards in the home which children can respect and standards at school for children to attain.

Only this week Keith Joseph announced a new system of examinations which will raise standards, encourage endeavour and increase opportunity for our young people. That new scheme has been widely acclaimed. Nick Edwards will be doing the same for Wales. [end p29]

It is our view—and I believe a widely held view—that parents are entitled to a say over the education of their children. As a principle, that has been acknowledged for years. But it is your Government which is making it a reality.

We have given parents a stronger voice on the governing bodies of maintained schools. [end p30]

And we are doing still more. We are proposing to give parents majority control—yes, majority control—over governing bodies in every county school.

That will give parents real power—thanks to Keith Joseph and Nick Edwards who are both doing a marvellous job. [end p31]

A PROSPEROUS ECONOMY

In every aspect of our lives—in education, in community work, in creating prosperity—we need to harness the skills and the initiative of individuals.

It is the central task of our economic policy to build on the talent and skills which we have within our midst.

Everyday I see the ravages which past inflation has brought. How it drove people on small fixed incomes penury. [end p32] How it slowly sapped away the strength of our savings and eroded the confidence of people to invest in the future.

That was why in 1979 we made conquering inflation our first objective.

Curbing inflation is like going on a slimming course. At first it requires an enormous effort of will. And then it is all too easy to relax when success is in sight—only to discover that the pounds go up again all too quickly [end p33]

Mr. Chairman, let me assure you we will wage the battle of the bulge every day until discipline has become a way of life. [end p34]

But it is not enough merely to bring down inflation. The economic recovery which is now under way needs the spirited participation of individuals. It needs the skilled worker prepared to put in that little bit extra to deliver on time. Above all it needs the small businessman prepared to take a risk and start up his own enterprise.

And that is why the second task of Government is to bring down the burden of income tax at all levels. [end p35] That applies particularly to people who work hard and conscientiously but whose income is low. That is why this Government has laid special emphasis on raising the thresholds at which income tax is paid.

And there also have to be incentives for the men and women who will build the businesses and bring the new jobs. We must keep the good people here and not drive them abroad by taxing them from our shores. And that goes whether they are in the world of industry, sport, entertainment or literature. [end p36] We need them all. All enrich our lives. Nigel Lawson 's Budget made an important step in the right direction. But there is more to do.

Our third aim is to see that everyone has a chance to become a man or woman of property. The history of liberty is bound up with the right to property. As a man becomes a property owner he gets to own a stake in society and a stake he will defend.

He may wish to save through investments. [end p37] He may wish to own his own house—there is no finer ambition. He may be a farmer who wants to walk and farm the land beneath his feet as an owner rather than a tenant. In all or any of these ways he becomes the yeoman backbone of Britain—the possessor of that stubborn streak—with belief and confidence in the individual, that is vital for our economic success.

Figures published this week show that the nation's output is now higher than we have ever before achieved in this country. [end p38] Last year our recovery was faster than any other major European nation.

But when we look round we see that over the years far more jobs have been created in the United States and Japan than in Europe. Over the last ten years the number of people in work in Western Europe has fallen. In the United States over the same period the number of people in work has risen by over 15 million: and in Japan by 5 million.

We are all industrialised countries. So why have they solved this problem while we have not done so? [end p39]

Is it because the Governments in America and Japan spend a smaller proportion of national income than here in Britain?

Is it because the Japanese and Americans are taxed less heavily than we are?

Is it because Japan and the United States have never had a Socialist government, but have always had an enterprise culture?

Is it because they look more to their own efforts for their prosperity than to subsidies from Government? [end p40]

Is it because their increase in wages has been much more closely linked to increases in output?

Yes, all of these things play a part. You can never have greater wealth and higher income unless you have policies, laws and attitudes that favour its creation. [end p41]

CONCLUSION

Mr. Chairman, This is an occasion to look forward, in hope. Let us raise our sights—above this or that strike, or wage dispute; above the pettiness of much of the internal debate. And let us remind ourselves — that in these small islands there is still a great and a great-hearted people; — that across the globe Britain is still a name to be conjured with, an ally to be [end p42] relied upon; — that we are deeply respected for our history, our institutions, our skills and our sense of fair play; — that Wales, with a great heritage so long expressed in song, in language, in family life, in religion, enriches us all with its unique contribution.

So we can confidently look to the future. We shall remain—we shall not be ashamed to say—proud of our Party, proud of our country, proud of this United Kingdom.