PRIME MINISTER
Engagements
Q1. Dr. McDonald
asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 14 May.
The Prime Minister (Mrs. Margaret Thatcher)
This morning I had meetings with ministerial colleagues and others, including one with the President of the Cameroon. In addition to my duties in the House I shall be having further meetings later today. This evening I hope to have an audience of Her Majesty the Queen.
Dr. McDonald
Does the Prime Minister repudiate the views of ex-Cabinet Ministers in her own party that the Government should intervene directly in industry to create jobs and that the Chancellor's cherished tax cuts are becoming a victim of his own economic strategy?
The Prime Minister
As the hon. Lady is aware, the Chancellor's tax cuts, indicated in the Budget recently, will take effect this month. I do not think that the hon. Lady will oppose them. With regard to what has been said by former members of my Cabinet, I heartily agree with the comments on the Labour party:
“Labour is riddled with anti-democratic elements and saddled with policy commitments that would undo most of the good of the past six years.”
I am grateful for the support of my right hon. Friend who made that comment.
Mr. Moynihan
In view of the succession of Conservative swings in the last three council by-elections in Lewisham, East, culminating in the outstanding victory last Thursday in a once safe Labour ward, does my right hon. Friend agree that their Lordships would be wise to listen to the views of those in Lewisham rather than pay attention to the redundant and ill-informed propaganda above County Hall, behind the far Left of this Chamber?
The Prime Minister
I heartily congratulate my hon. Friend on the excellent election result in Lewisham. It is an absolute confirmation of the wisdom of rate capping.
Mr. Kinnock
As we grieve with those who were most directly affected by the tragedy at Valley Parade on Saturday, may I ask the Prime Minister two questions of immediate relevance, on both of which immediate reassurance is required? First, will the Government ensure [column 169]that none of the bereaved or those who suffered grievous injury on Saturday will have to endure additional suffering if it becomes evident that Bradford City Association Football Club does not have sufficient insurance cover to meet all legitimate claims? Secondly, are the Government prepared to use part of the large revenues which they derive direct from football for the purpose of immediately undertaking an extensive programme of improvements to safety at public sports grounds?
The Prime Minister
The answer to the first part of the right hon. Gentleman's supplementary question is that it would be best if he allowed us time to look into all the financial matters first to see exactly how much is covered by insurance. Various disaster funds have been started. The answer to the second part is that I shall be seeing the chairman of the Football Trust tomorrow. The right hon. Gentleman will be aware that the situation is complicated, in that £7 million a year goes to the Football Trust from 20 per cent. of the turnover from “Spot the Ball” competitions. Half of that goes to the Football Ground Improvement Trust for ground improvements at Football League clubs. Last year, 1984, the Football Ground Improvement Trust accumulated £3.3 million in its bank balance because there had been insufficient extra demand from league clubs for improvements. That money was distributed, on the initiative of the Football League, as retrospective grant to those clubs that had already received grants from the trust. I have been inquiring into the finances. It would be best if we made a very thorough inquiry before jumping to any conclusions.
Mr. Kinnock
I trust that the inquiries will not merely be thorough—as I would expect them to be, and I certainly support the right hon. Lady's activity in that respect—but will also be urgent, because, both in terms of those who are now in deep anxiety and in terms of the implications for crowd safety, it is clearly necessary that effective action is taken as quickly as possible.
The Prime Minister
As I told the right hon. Gentleman, I shall be seeing Lord Aberdare tomorrow. I had intended to see him long before the tragedy last Saturday; that makes it all the more urgent.
Mr. Lawrence
Does my right hon. Friend agree that the remarks attributed in the Falklands to Labour's Front Bench spokesman on foreign affairs will have left the Falkland Islanders in no doubt that Labour has not the faintest interest in protecting their rights?
The Prime Minister
Yes, Mr. Speaker—[Interruption.]Those remarks must have been deeply wounding and we on these Benches reject them absolutely.
Q2. Mrs. Peacock
asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 14 May.
The Prime Minister
I refer my hon. Friend to the reply that I gave some moments ago.
Mrs. Peacock
Will my right hon. Friend today extend congratulations to those involved in the building of the Falkland Islands airport? Nowhere else in the world has a project of this nature been achieved under such difficult conditions in such a short time. Does my right hon. Friend agree that it is evidence of British industry and the British work force at their very best?
The Prime Minister
Yes, I gladly join my hon. Friend in congratulating all of those concerned in the building of [column 170]the airstrip—[Interruption.]—and I should have thought that Labour Members would have been more generous-minded and would have wished to congratulate the work force, which achieved the building of that airstrip in 16 months from the date of its being started—a truly brilliant achievement.
Q3. Mr. Dixon
asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 14 May.
The Prime Minister
I refer the hon. Gentleman to the reply that I gave some moments ago.
Mr. Dixon
During the right hon. Lady's busy day, will she reflect on the fact that since she first came to power in 1979 the last ship repair yard in my constituency has closed, the last shipbuilding yard in my constituency has been put in mothballs, the last pit in my constituency has been closed, the last steelworks in my constituency is to be phased out at the end of this year and that MacGregor has just announced that the Whitburn workshops in my constituency will be closed?—[Interruption.] If some Conservative Members would stop shedding crocodile tears about unemployment, we might get somewhere.
Is the Prime Minister aware that in my constituency one in three men are unemployed and that of those 40 per cent. have been unemployed for more than 12 months? [Interruption.] This is no laughing matter and if some Conservative Members tasted unemployment, they would not be so niggly and sniggly about it. Is the right hon. Lady further aware——
Mr. Speaker
Order. The hon. Member is taking a long time over his supplementary question.
Mr. Dixon
Some of the hooligans on the Government Benches should be called to order, Mr. Speaker, rather than me, because we are talking about men and women who are anxious to earn a living. Will the Prime Minister speak to the Secretary of State for the Environment—bearing in mind the devastation that Conservative policies have caused to my area—and tell him to redesignate the area from a programme authority to a partnership authority?
The Prime Minister
I shall of course speak to Patrick Jenkinmy right hon. Friend. May I point out to the hon. Gentleman that he knows some of the answers to some of the problems? In shipbuilding, there is a surplus of world capacity. We cannot go on keeping a surplus capacity here. We cannot compete, even with the generous subsidies that have been given to shipbuilding. In steel, he will be aware that his Government also had to close surplus steel plants. As for coal, he will be aware that if we want a successful coal industry we must concentrate on the pits of the future. No Government have put greater investment into the coal industry than this one.
Mr. Conway
Will my right hon. Friend take time today to study the latest CBI report about a 50 per cent. reduction in the number of strikes? Will she consider ways of promoting such an achievement by this Administration, in order to encourage not so much the Centre Forward but those of us who play left back?
The Prime Minister
I saw the report. I believe that it is partly due to the legislation passed by this Government to give each and every person in trade unions the right to a secret ballot, first, to elect their own officers and, [column 171]secondly, to reach a decision about whether there should be a strike if the union is to keep its protection and immunities.
Mr. Steel
Does the Prime Minister recall telling the House a fortnight ago in answer to a question from me that the matter of planning permission for the Palumbo tower was not for her but for the Secretary of State for the Environment? If that is the case, will she confirm press reports that she was round at the Department of the Environment the next morning looking at the planning application? If so, what was she doing there, and what is her attitude to the application?
The Prime Minister
Yes, Mr. Speaker. That visit had been arranged long before the right hon. Gentleman asked his question. Of course I went round and looked at the model. The decision was, and is, for my right hon. Friend Patrick Jenkinthe Secretary of State for the Environment, and I hope that he will be making it shortly. I hope that the right hon. Gentleman realises that it is not unknown for a Prime Minister to visit a Department to see exactly what the problem is.
Mr. Gerald Howarth
Has my right hon. Friend noted the apparent Damascene conversion of the Labour party with its decision to allow council house tenants to buy their own homes? Does she agree that, while there may be greater joy in Heaven over the one sinner that repenteth, council house tenants should remember that it was the Tory party which gave them that right?
The Prime Minister
Yes, Mr. Speaker. But I note that the Labour party's conversion is far from complete. I understand that it has left it to Left-wing authorities to opt out. I can, therefore, hardly say that the Labour party has been converted. I should be more likely to say that it was shown in its true colours when it fought the Bill line by line during its passage through the House. Those who own their council houses owe that to the Government's courage and determination.
Q4. Mr. McKay
asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 14 May 1985.
The Prime Minister
I refer the hon. Gentleman to the reply that I gave some moments ago.
Mr. McKay
Will the Prime Minister note that tomorrow is the launch of the coalfields community campaign? [Hon. Members: “What is that?” ] I regret that that remark shows the opposition's ignorance. [Interruption.] It shows the ignorance of Conservative Members about organisations, led by many eminent people in the House and outside, representing over 11 million people who are worried by the Government's policies on colliery closures, which have raised unemployment figures to 18 and 20 per cent. in those areas. Will she send a message of congratulations to that campaign and insist that collieries do not close, except for economic reasons, unless there are replacement jobs?
The Prime Minister
No, Mr. Speaker. The hon. Gentleman is fully aware that he is asking for management to opt out of its responsibilities to manage and for unlimited amounts of subsidy from the taxpayer. He is well aware that this Government have poured more investment into the coal mines of the future than any other. He is also aware that there were more colliery closures under Labour than under the Conservatives.
[column 172]Mr. Colvin
With regard to the earlier question from the hon. Member for Jarrow (Mr. Dixon), will my right hon. Friend find time today to refresh her memory on what was known as the King's Lynn scheme whereby 100 jobs and 100 houses were offered to unemployed workers in Jarrow? Does she recall that only 36 people applied for those jobs and that, at the end of one year, only 15 remained in King's Lynn? Will my right hon. Friend consider getting in touch with my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry and asking him to send a load of bikes to Jarrow?
The Prime Minister
I think that we would all wish that we could bring more jobs to people. As my hon. Friend knows, that can be done only if more people are prepared to start up businesses and more goods are sold in this country and overseas. That means good design and good salesmanship. There is no other answer.
Q5. Mr. Frank Cook
asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 14 May.
The Prime Minister
I refer the hon. Gentleman to the reply that I gave some moments ago.
Mr. Cook
Will the Prime Minister take time this afternoon to ponder on the fact that, during Prime Minister's Question Time last Thursday—[Hon. Members: “Reading” .] I am not reading. I am prepared to let hon. Members see the document. Will the right hon. Lady ponder on the fact that, in response to a question from her colleague the hon. Member for Langbaurgh (Mr. Holt), she allowed herself to be misled, that in doing so she misled the House and that, in her anxiety to malign the honourable and dedicated teaching profession, she misrepresented the facts relating to the Endeavour school in Middlesbrough? Will the right hon. Lady agree this afternoon to accept a copy of a letter setting out the truth, which was written by a constituent of mine who is a member of the staff at that school? Having had that letter checked, will she have the decency and courage to return to the Chamber and admit that, yet again, she has got it wrong and apologise not only to the teaching profession but to the staff of a very dedicated establishment?
The Prime Minister
Of course I will receive that letter. I believe that the hon. Gentleman is referring to a question about a school where supervision at a meal times had been withdrawn. I understood that that school was in the constituency of my hon. Friend the Member for Langbaurgh (Mr. Holt) and that he was well aware of the matter. If I am wrong, I apologise. But I wish to see the facts.
Mr. Bell
On a point of order Mr. Speaker. We often consider the question of the Prime Minister's accountability to the House of Commons. Question Time is a treasured opportunity for Back Benchers to render that accountability real. Is it not important, Mr. Speaker, to remind the House that questions to the Prime Minister should be related to her executive responsibility and not to statements made by members of the Labour party and to matters that have nothing to do with her executive responsibility?
Mr. Speaker
I think that I was in error in not pulling up the hon. and learned Member for Burton (Mr. Lawrence). Of course questions to the Prime Minister must be about her responsibility.
[column 173]Mr. Skinner
On a point of order, Mr. Speaker. Did you receive any nods or winks during Prime Minister's Question Time from members of the Centre Forward team? It has come to my notice that one of the members of the Centre Forward team—the right hon. Member for Chesham and Amersham (Sir I. Gilmour)—looks as though he was tripped up by a dirty centre half. His arm is in plaster.
Mr. Speaker
I am sure that we all commiserate with the right hon. Member for Chesham and Amersham (Sir I. Gilmour). I do not always read the newspapers, so I do not know what the hon. Member for Bolsover (Mr. Skinner) is talking about.
Mr. Tom Clarke
On a point of order, Mr. Speaker, arising from questions to the Prime Minister. You will recall that the hon. and learned Member for Burton (Mr. Lawrence) asked a question that referred to my hon. Friend [column 174]the Member for Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley (Mr. Foulkes). I ask you, in the interests of fair play, to ensure that my hon. Friend is given the opportunity to give his account of recent events, in view of the fact that not all statements in recent months and years on the Falklands have been shown to be entirely accurate.
Mr. Speaker
The hon. Member for Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley (Mr. Foulkes) will have to seek an opportunity to do so.
Mr. Bill Walker
On a point of order, Mr. Speaker. May I draw your attention to the fact that the hon. Member for Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley (Mr. Foulkes) had the opportunity on the radio this morning to explain to the nation what he said in the Falklands? I think that when one reads the transcript one will——
Mr. Speaker
Order. That is an extension of Question Time. We have already dealt with that matter.