Michael Edwardes has shown his determination to make British Leyland succeed. There are welcome signs that his determination is shared by most BL employees.
We too want British Leyland to succeed.
But every worker in the company—from Mr Edwardes to those on the shop floor—knows that his future job security and living standards can only be properly safeguarded if the company is making good cars that people want to buy.
Large sums of ‘public’ money have already been allocated to help modernise it's production line and bring it up to date.
But we have to remember that it is taxpayers who are being asked to put their hands in their pockets to help BL. I believe they are prepared to do that, if BL show that they are prepared to help themselves. That is the attitude which we would take in Government. But every time some industrial dispute breaks out, people wonder if their money is being well spent.
Time and again Labour leaders—Sir Harold Wilson, Mr Callaghan, Mr Varley, and others—whatever they may be saying now at Election time, have made it clear that the provision of more money for BL is subject to better industrial relations and improvement in overall performance and evidence that management and workers are doing their best to put the company on its feet again. That too is our attitude.
Conservatives want to see a flourishing British motor industry able to take its proper share of the home market and to compete successfully in Europe and worldwide. British Leyland's future is in its own hands. I wish them all possible success.