Iron Lady armed to defend poll tax

Maggie answers critics

While the Conservative stronghold has never seemed so vulnerable, the Party leader has never seemed so strong.

Margaret Thatcher shrugged off her critics on Monday, the day after Welsh Secretary Peter Walker announced his resignation and on the same evening as residents in neighbouring Haringey were staging a bitter protest against the poll tax.

Although the poll tax debate was raging hotter than ever, Mrs Thatcher was not for turning.

She was speaking to members of the Finchley and Friern Barnet Conservative Association at its annual meeting in Church End Finchley.

And she damned the rating system as the “most unpopular tax in our history” .

Mrs Thatcher described people's reaction to the revaluation of the rates in Scotland as horrific.

“I have never known such a political row.

“The reason why there was such a row is because only a minority of people were paying rates and they felt, quite rightly, that the burden was falling extremely hard on them.”

While 12 million people had been paying domestic rates in full, 17 million were not paying rates at all, said Mrs Thatcher.

“It was a very unfair tax.”

She reminded her audience they were lucky to be living Barnet, and not neighbouring Brent or Haringey.

“Our charge here is £338. It is swollen by some £70 which you will not have to pay next year. We have to pay an equalisation charge to other authorities,” explained Mrs Thatcher.

Turning to the health service, Mrs Thatcher said: “I had great pleasure about a fortnight ago when I was able to go to Barnet General Hospital and announce a new hospital for Barnet and improvements for Edgware at a cost of £90m starting in two years' time.”

At a time when more money than ever before was being sunk into the health service, Mrs Thatcher admitted there were problems with inflation.

The current 15 per cent interest rate was especially hard on people who had bought property two to three years ago, said Mrs Thatcher, but added: “We must get inflation down it and this is the only way to get it down.”

Speaking on international matters. Mrs Thatcher praised Soviet leader Mr Gorbachev.

“Before he came on to the scene we never thought we would see socialism or communism crumble as it has done.”

But Mrs Thatcher added: “When great empires break up we see a lot of turbulence. When you get this break up you get great uncertainty and we must keep our defences strong because you never know where the next surprise will come from.”