TV Interview for TV-AM (General Election announcement)

Interviewer

Prime Minister, could you first of all tell me what decided you to opt for a June 11 election?

Prime Minister

Well, first, I think we have to end the uncertainty. In this country, I know, quite a number of decisions are being held up and overseas, those people are wondering whether to invest in Britain, might be wanting to know what is the future and I think we had better enable them to see, and secondly, there are so many big decisions coming up this coming year on the international scene: the arms control, the CAP—the Common Agricultural Policy—in Europe, decisions on the Middle East and the whole east-west problem and I think, therefore, that it is better that we end the uncertainty now so that nations with whom one negotiates can have confidence and one can speak with the voice of the future.

Interviewer

Do you feel that you were forced into this election?

Prime Minister

Good heavens, no! At any time between year four and year [end p1] five of a Parliament there is a chance of an election. The only question is: when do you take it? and I am quite certain that now is the best time to take it.

Interviewer

You are preparing now for your third campaign; what is going to be the main thrust of it?

Prime Minister

The main thrust will be first the achievements of the first eight years: they are very considerable. People know that Britain has been transformed: its industry is competitive, the economy is strong, we are a reliable ally, we are respected in the world, people have more freedom and enterprise than they used to have; that will continue. We shall also say that there a number of things that now need to be done: people are not satisfied with the education their children are getting at school and that in spite of the fact that we are spending more per pupil than ever before; so we are having a look at that.

We have done great things for people who wanted to buy their own homes, who lived in council estates, but we really must give more choice to people who are renting and will continue to rent for the rest of their lives; we must try to give more choice to them.

We will, in fact, go a little bit further on trade union law because there are some things that still need to be done, on finances; we shall continue the sound policies, we shall continue to get inflation down; that is vital and just as soon as it is wise and prudent to do so, we shall get down the rate of income tax. [end p2]

Overseas, we shall always fight for Britain's interests as we always have and we shall continue to be strong in defence of what we believe and we shall continue to be a reliable ally.

Interviewer

You mentioned education at the top of that list; does that mean it is going to be the central plank, if you like, of your manifesto?

Prime Minister

It will be one of the main planks, I think you know that Kenneth Baker has been working extremely hard both on school education and on higher education and there will be quite a number of things that will be in the manifesto—I think we had better wait until next week to say what they are.

Interviewer

In the forthcoming campaign, who will you regard as the main opposition? Will it be Mr Kinnock or will it be Dr Owen and David Steel?

Prime Minister

Oh, everyone who is against me I shall fight! Who is not with me is against me. When I fight, I fight hard. We work hard because we believe passionately in what we are doing, we believe it is right for Britain, we believe it is right for the character of Britain, so we should just go on fighting, putting our positive policies, trying to say why we do not agree with the policies of opponents, trying to [end p3] say why we think it is important that Britain has a strong, decisive Government, known to be strong and decisive. We shall be positive, positive, positive, just as we have over the last eight years and it is because we have been positive, because we have been decisive that Britain stands high in the eyes of the world as she does now.

Interviewer

But are you more worried though about Mr Kinnock or David Steel and Dr Owen?

Prime Minister

I am worried about only one thing: getting a good enough majority to keep the confidence of the world. I believe we need continuity, I believe we need consistent policies, I believe we need to have the confidence of the world. We place ourselves to the judgement of the electorate; that is what democracy is all about. You have to do it at least once every five years. You do it on the record of your achievement, which in our case is considerable. You do it on your future policies. So we shall go straight on into the future in the way I have indicated, hoping that the electorate will have confidence enough in us to give us a mandate for a third term.

Interviewer

After the Conservatives' strong performance in the district council elections and the welter of public opinion polls which put your party well ahead of your rivals, how confident are you of victory a third time? [end p4]

Prime Minister

I hope and believe we can win and shall win. I hope and believe we shall win with a good majority but we take nothing for granted. We shall work every inch of the way, every minute of the day in every constituency, putting our policies and criticising those which we believe would be wrong for Britain.

Interviewer

Are you worried about complacency then among your supporters?

Prime Minister

No, there will be not complacency among our candidates and I hope there will be no complacency among our supporters; that is how elections are lost.

Interviewer

You are embarking on your third election campaign; do you have plans to try going for a fourth term?

Prime Minister

Well, this is my eleventh election campaign. Quite a number of people have fought quite a lot more. I hope to join their number.

Interviewer

But you have outlined a pretty lengthy manifesto there. That [end p5] is going to take more than a few years to get through.

Prime Minister

Certainly, I think that it could go on beyond this Parliament but by the time the next Parliament comes, we shall have other policies to add to them. You know when you are kind of “climbing every mountain” as we are, as you reach one peak you soon see other peaks above and you have to climb higher to those. The important thing is that you are consistent, that people know exactly where they are with you, and that you are strong and you do not dilly dally and hum and ha; you go straight for you objective, you discuss things with people, you submit your policies to them and that is what we are doing now.

Interviewer

I know we are looking a long way ahead but would you like to go for a fourth term?

Prime Minister

Oh yes, but that means winning the third term first and there is quite a fight ahead and we shall fight every inch of the way.

Interviewer

Finally Prime Minister, what simply, how would you best sum up your message in the forthcoming campaign?

Prime Minister

We have a very good record in our first eight years. It is a [end p6] record that has transformed Britain. It could not have done that unless we had been prepared to take difficult decisions at the time they needed to be taken, unless we were prepared to fight a coalstrike and win, unless we had been prepared to take a clear decision to go down and get the Falklands back when they were taken away from us, unless we had been prepared at the time to deploy Cruise missiles and to be absolutely fearless with putting our viewpoint to the Soviet Union, absolutely fearless of putting our viewpoint to Europe; we are fighters, we are fighters on things we believe. We trust the people of Britain, we are trying to extend property evermore widely among them and with property, opportunity. That is a very good policy for Britain.

Interviewer

And for those less fortunate, those who do not have property or own property at the moment, those who are out of work or homeless; what can you offer them?

Prime Minister

Of course we can offer them a great deal. Before you can start to distribute money, someone has got to make it. That is made by successful business. Because business is now successful we have been able to spend far more money on the health service, well over twice as much in arithmetical terms as when we came in, more per pupil. Some people talk as if the money were just there; it is absurd. People who talk most about those things are not people who do most. We have had the right policies to have strong economic growth. It is that strong economic growth which has enabled us to [end p7] use growth for really three purposes:

to reduce tax because people are entitled to have more of the fruits of their own efforts so we have reduced tax,

secondly to put more to the social services which we have done,

and thirdly—I do not necessarily put them in the right order—to see that Britain's defences remain strong and that we have more police but to do all of that—and it goes for all of the people—you have got to have strong and sound economic growth and a decisive Government so that is what we have had in the last eight years.

Interviewer

So to people who are unemployed and homeless as I just mentioned, your message to them is “Be patient” ?

Prime Minister

The message to them is that you have far better opportunities for realising your hopes and dreams under a Government which achieves good growth—as this Government does—than under one which will stifle enterprise and hold people back by taking away too much in tax away from them so they haven't the incentive to work harder. After all even Mr Gorbachev is talking about initiative and incentive in order to produce the kind of higher standard of living which he wishes to have and of course which we already have in this country, but of course people want a higher standard of living and some people—there are always people who have not got as much as they wish and they will wish to have more.