Peter Murphy, IRN
Critics suggest there is little new in this; it is just a repackaging of old ideas.
Prime Minister
Well they are not that old you know. They started with Tory Government in 1979. Urban Development Corporations were our idea because we saw areas of dereliction which local authorities had not been able to clear. Enterprise zones were our idea because we chose certain areas where we knew that they needed the jobs. Those were fundamentally our ideas. We had to have legislation to get them through and now they are working out.
In our last manifesto; it really was a manifest which would specially benefit inner cities, new policies for housing for people who have always had to live in rented houses, new educational opportunities, changing the whole financial structure of local authorities so that they could not fleece businesses on rates—tremendous!
They are new ideas and they are beginning to work out and we are taking the ones that have tremendous success. We are coordinating them all and concentrating them on certain areas that need it most. [end p1]
Peter Murphy, IRN
How much extra taxpayer's money is being announced today that is going into these new …
Prime Minister
About £250 million extra of taxpayer's money is being announced today but don't forget, that still leaves £2.7 billion or £2,750 million that the taxpayer is already paying and we are having a look and saying now, “Can we spend it better, can we get more value for money out of this? By putting some in, can we get more from the private sector by acting together?” It is not only how much money you put in, it is what you do with the money that counts.
Peter Murphy, IRN
There are three private initiatives also being announced today. How important is it that you get support from the private sector?
Prime Minister
Absolutely vital. Go and look at London Docklands; there is a massive amount of private sector money. Go and look at any big shopping centre, you will find a massive amount of private sector money. Go and look at Halifax; the great new enterprise there of the old carpet factory taken over by Ernest Hall out of his enterprise; not a penny piece of public money. He said “Yes, enterprise prospers in adversity.” He has done fantastic things there.
In some cases where there is great dereliction, we have to go in, clear up the land, put in all the services, make it fit for the [end p2] private sector to start to build on. That is really our aim and also you will find that you know sometimes it takes such a long time to get planning permission so we take over with Urban Development Corporations where it is much quicker.
Peter Murphy, IRN
One of the private sector initiatives that has been announced has talked of building roads, rail links and possibly even airports. Is the sky really the limit?
Prime Minister
There is a small airport as you know, STOL in Docklands but you know we have already done a tremendous amount for example for Manchester airport because it is very important to have thriving regional airports. When I went to the Black Country—Bill Francis is the Chairman of the Urban Development Corporation there—he simply said to me, “Look, we are never really going to make a go of it until we know that we can have a new main road coming right through the heart of this” , and as I went around with him, that was self-evident. But they have not got a really good road so we put our priorities on trying to build a road there because we are putting a great deal of priority into that area. The same happens also with Docklands and you have to have that new Limehouse road which we have announced today.
Peter Murphy, IRN
Isn't there a danger, when you do create new areas, that all you do is just create jobs in that area and take them away from someone else? How are you going to guard against that? [end p3]
Prime Minister
I do not think that that is so because after all half a million new jobs are being created in the last eighteen months—in fact it is more than the last eighteen months—and that really is very very good indeed.
Peter Murphy, IRN
Is there a role for local authorities in this new initiative? You do seem to have pushed them out though, out of the picture somewhat.
Prime Minister
No, of course where local authorities work with you, there have been massive achievements. Glasgow is one of the most outstanding cities where the local authority was really prepared to work with us in modernising certain areas of the city and work with us in the great Glasgow scheme for redevelopment and also “Right” we said, “If you work with us, you have a tremendous new station there—a new railway station” —and it is everything that you would dream of in a new railway station not like the older ones. So where they are prepared to work with you, you get double the results; some of them are Labour councils. It is the extreme left ones that are not prepared to work with you.
Peter Murphy, IRN
Those are the ones you do not trust to create new jobs?
Prime Minister
They haven't. I mean they have been hostile to enterprise so they have not got the amount of new business going there.