Sir Stanley OdellMr. Chairman, 1989 looks like being a year of anniversaries. It will soon be ten years since a Conservative Government was returned to office and changed the face of Britain. And not, if I may say so, a moment too soon.
It is almost twenty years to the day since the Central Council last came to Scarborough. I dare say that Scarborough has seen some changes too since them. But some things stay reassuringly the same. For here on the platform beside me, I have a Peter BrookeBrooke—Peter. And what a wonderful job he does as Chairman of our Party. (Applause). [end p1]
Twenty years ago, on the platform, was the then President of the National Union, a certain Baroness Brooke. And in 1960, when the Party Conference was held in Scarborough, the President was one Mr. Henry Brooke. Indeed the Brookes seem to have something of a monopoly in Scarborough. (Laughter). But rest assured, it is not one we shall be referring to the Monopolies Commission. (Laughter)
I am also delighted to congratulate you Sir—our new chairman, Sir Stanley Odell. By some oversight, you forgot to be a Brooke. But despite that handicap, I have no doubt you will do a splendid job, [end p2] Like all our Cabinet, where we have a positive plethora of talent. David YoungThere's a David who's Young, George YoungerA George who's Younger, (Laughter) Kenneth BakerA Kenneth who's a Baker, and another Kenneth Clarkewho's a Clarke, Norman Flowera Norman who's a Fowler, Tom Kinga Tom who's a King, Peter Walkera Peter who's Walker, John Majora John who's a Major;—not to mention Sir Robin Butlera Secretary to the Cabinet who's a Butler. (laughter). What more could a Thatcher ask for? (Laughter and applause).
Mr. Chairman, some anniversaries are private. There is nothing private about this one. It's one the whole Conservative Party shares with the Nation. [end p3]
Our Conservative Government pointed the way. The British people responded. And together we re-built the nation's fortunes. Whatever their political convictions, few would deny that the 1980s have been Britain's decade.
We all remember some hard campaigns. The battles against the economic wreckers on the picket lines. The battle to get unemployment down. The battles on the hustings, in Parliament. The battle to straighten out the finances of the European Community, and for fair treatment for Britain. [end p4]
But this is no time to rest on our laurels. It's not our way to look back from the comfortable deckchair of respect ([sic: retrospect]).
For us the past is something from which to draw strength. Strength to hold fast to the principles that ensured our success. Strength to resist the constant assaults on our freedom. The strength that comes from the confidence born of experience.
Ten years ago, the foundations of liberty were crumbling. Today, Britain stands proud and free. [end p5]
THE ECONOMY
And the British people have much to be proud about. Nigel LawsonThe Chancellor has just given us his annual financial statement. And what a good Budget it was. Cautious. Well judged. A budget right for the times. [end p6]
And some of you will have seen his excellent broadcast and the charts which showed the great strides we have made. A record number of people in work in the United Kingdom—over 26 million of them. One million more than in 1979, the year Labour lost office.
Mr. Chairman, how we longed in the early years of our Government for the day when we could say that, when we could prove to the world that our policies would succeed. And now it's here. [end p7] Jobs are being created in every region of the country—Scotland, Wales, the North-East, the North-West, the Midlands and, yes, despite everything, even in Northern Ireland. And the standard of living is higher than we have ever known. That's Conservative Policy in practice.
And how Labour hate it. Dog in the manager to the end, they carp and criticise and knock. Trying to forget that it was Labour that drove Britain bankrupt. [end p8]
Now they are calling for more capital investment. But what happened when they were in power? Cuts. They cut every capital programme in sight. Labour cut the hospital building programme by nearly a third. Cut investment in the water industry by a third. Cut investment in roads by over a third. Mr. Chairman, there is only way to describe that record—third-rate. (Laughter and applause).
It's Conservative prosperity that has increased capital investment all round: —on roads by 30 per cent —increased it on hospitals by over 30 per cent —and on water by over 50 per cent. [end p9]
Mr. Chairman, Labour just can't bear it when you face them out with the facts. They make the most tremendous noise in the House—you may have heard it. But they can't drown out the truth.
What we have done is to create a framework in which the enterprise and vitality of the people can flourish.
We've brought public expenditure firmly under control. And we're now paying back some of the massive debts Labour left behind. Yes there are problems. Inflation at 7½ per cent to 8 per cent is too high. [end p10]
But what to us is unacceptably high was regarded by the Labour Government as commendably low. In their whole period of office, they only got below 8 per cent for six months.
The choice before us is a temporary rise in interest rates or a long-term rise in inflation.
And that's really not a choice at all. Not for a Government which believes in honest money and sound finance. [end p11]
But getting inflation down—vital as it is—is not enough to stimulate growth. You have to give people incentives. That's why over the years we have cut the rates of income tax—and it's worked. We want to cut them further. But this was not the year to do it. Instead we've introduced a new deal on National Insurance contributions that will help the lower paid. What's more—and I'm sure you'll agree it's right—we've abolished the earnings rule for pensioners. (Applause). [end p12]
Mr. Chairman, it isn't Government's job to run industry. That's for the people who work in it. We can't teach them their business. It's only the Socialists who are arrogant enough to do that. We have returned State industries to the private sector where they belong.
So far, nineteen major businesses have been denationalised. In every case, we encouraged employees to become shareholders, many for the first time. [end p13]
I don't know if you've followed the story of the National Freight Corporation. When we privatised it in 1982, the employees invested their hard-earned savings in its shares. Just six weeks ago, those shares were traded on the stock exchange for the first time. Whether it be Chairman, Lorry drivers, typists or tea ladies, each employee has now made £100 for every £1 they originally invested. Not because of some windfall, but because they had the incentive to make their company succeed. And they did. Just that, and they deserve our congratulations. (Applause). [end p14]
WATER PRIVATISATION
Mr Chairman, Nationalisation seldom spares the people's pockets. It's too inefficient. Hence, the reason for privatising water.
But some people say: ‘Water is different. It comes naturally from the heavens. Ought we to be charged? What next—Air?’
Mr Chairman, clean water doesn't come cheap. The pipes the pumping stations and the purification plants—not to mention the treatment works, the reservoirs and the dams. They all cost huge sums to install and maintain. [end p15]
We're not living in the village community of the past. In a country of 5 million people. Britain today is a highly sophisticated industrial society of 55 million people with a high standard of living and all the refuse, organic waste, pollution, and chemicals which that, produces. No, clean water doesn't come cheap—and it never will.
And, Mr Chairman, a quarter of our water is already provided by the private sector. So there's nothing new about privatising the rest. [end p16]
Under Public ownership, water investment had to take its place in the queue behind schools and hospitals. And when Labour had to make cuts—it was the water industry that lost out.
Once water is in the private sector, and free from treasury control, companies will have the resources to invest in the latest technology and give the customer a far better deal. [end p17]
Indeed under privatisation the consumer will have much better protection and so will the environment. Standards will be enforced by the National Rivers Authority, which will deal with the discharge of waste into our rivers. The new bill sets up that authority. And the price of water will be controlled by a Director of Water Services. [end p18]
Again all employees of the new companies will be given some free shares and incentives to purchase more. Thus, they will have a stake in their company's future, and the motivation to make it succeed.
Mr Chairman, Privatisation of water was a manifesto commitment. For the sake of the environment, the consumer, the industry and its employees, let us give our full support to Nick Ridley and Michael Howard in speeding the bill through Parliament and keeping our Election promise. [end p19]
ENVIRONMENT
But, Mr Chairman, today as never before we look to the future of the natural world we live in. To the quality of the legacy we pass on to our children. These things lie at the heart of Conservatism.
Climatic change, the protection of the countryside, the pollution of our seas around us—none of these are being ignored. [end p20]
On the contrary, we have taken the lead in tackling the challenges which confront our whole planet.
Recently we convened a Conference of over 120 nations in London on an issue of vital importance.
We are all deeply concerned about the ozone layer, the Greenhouse effect, tropical forests and the problems of acid rain. [end p21]
But we mustn't neglect the more immediate problems. This Government has been meticulous about conserving the Green Belt. In England, we have more than doubled its size since 1979. And sent a clear message to developers that we are determined to protect it. [end p22]
But we need to keep our towns and highways not just green but clean. That's a job for everyone. The Tidy Britain Group, the local authorities, the Government—and above all, the active citizen. Mr Chairman, we're declaring war on Litter: Bag it and Bin it and that way we'll win it. (Applause).
But greater wealth and a higher standard of living has led to a greater volume of waste. As they stand, our laws are not equal to the task. Next Session, we will Bring in a major new Bill which imposes tough new controls on pollution and waste disposal. [end p23]
And Nigel LawsonNigel's budget didn't forget the Environment either. He gave a further incentive to the use of unleaded petrol. And very good too.
Mr Chairman, we shall not have healthy citizens unless we look after the health of our planet. [end p24]
HEALTH
Mr Chairman, I don't know if you've noticed, but the Labour Party has a highly selective memory. So, for the record, a little history.
It was Winston Churchill 's War Time Government that first proposed the creation of a National Health Service, free and available to all.
It was Harold Macmillan 's Conservative Government that launched a crusade to ensure that for the first time ever, no district in the country would be without its own General Hospital. [end p25]
And it is this Conservative Government that is carrying on that tradition by proposing the most far-reaching reforms for over forty years.
Let me make it clear—as the White Paper said on the health service—‘The National Health Service will continue to be available to all, regardless of income, and to be financed mainly out of General Taxation’. (Applause).
Our reforms have nothing to do do with Privatising the Health Service but everything to do with improving it. [end p26]
Mr Chairman, the message is plain. The Health Service not only has a great Conservative history, it has a great Conservative future.
We're opening up choice at every level. —Patients will be able to choose between doctors and change them if they want to. —GPs will have the option to control their own budgets. They will be better able to choose between hospitals to get the best and quickest treatment for their patients. [end p27]
Let me make it quite clear. No-one is going to compel the doctor to handle his own practice budget. He can choose whether to do so or not.
Hospitals will have a similar choice. They can choose—or not—to become self-Governing trusts, financed out of taxation.
In the last few months, I have had occasion to visit several hospitals. Visits in the wake of terrible disasters on land and in the air. [end p28] But I have never failed to be impressed by the spirit and the dedication of the doctors and nurses, and the other staff of the emergency services.
Those qualities are the most precious aspects of the NHS.
We want to strengthen them further. For the real focus of loyalty and pride for staff and patients alike is not the administrative unit, but the hospital itself. [end p29]
Have no fear for the National Health Service, whatever our political opponents put about. They are playing with politics with the sick.
Every time they distort what we say, ask them: —How many fewer doctors and nurses did Labour employ? —How many fewer patients did they treat? —By how much did Labour cut the pay of the nurses? —And how much less money did Labour devote to the NHS than the Conservatives? [end p30]
I will tell you the answers: —Doctors and Dentists: 14,000 Fewer under Labour. —Nurses and Midwives: 67,000 fewer under Labour. —Hospitals: 1½ million fewer in-patients a year treated under Labour. —Nurses' pay: Five thousand pounds a year less to a sister, under Labour. —And to cap it all as Labour is always asking about money, this year we are paying into the Health Service three times as much money as Labour did when they left office.
We've got a good record so we should shout it from the housetops. [end p31]
So I will repeat—and I will continue to repeat for as long as Labour continues to distort the truth: —The NHS will continue to be available to all, regardless of income, and to be financed mainly out of general taxation.
And like all the great public services with a Conservative Government, it will be better financed, better managed, and provide a better service for patients. [end p32]
QUALITY OF LIFE
Mr. Chairman, economic prosperity though highly desirable is not a goal in itself. It's the means by which other goals can be achieved. It makes it possible for us to provide not only for the necessities, but for the better things of life.
And so when we were returned to office, we set about turning the country round, about changing attitudes; restoring confidence; encouraging enterprise.
And soon we were able to spend more and more on schools, the disabled, the elderly, on research, the countryside, our heritage and on the arts. [end p33]
A lot more than Labour ever did. And now, having done all that, some people have the gall to accuse us of caring only about money—and not about the quality of life.
Mr. Chairman, as you well know, I'm a very patient person. (Laughter). But I confess I need every ounce of my natural restraint to listen in silence to those whose idea of duty to others is merely to bare their conscience and make speeches. (Applause).
Who are these people with the Gannex conscience? You know: the one you reverse according to the way the wind is blowing? (Laughter). [end p34]
These people—the born-again prophets of the permissive society—talk about the quality of life? They are the ones: —who blurred the distinction between right and wrong; —who showed more concern for the criminal than for his innocent victim; —who argued against excellence in our schools; —who taught that it was not essential to learn to spell or read worthwhile books; [end p35]
These are the people who robbed a generation of their birthright; who damaged our Institutions of higher learning by their selfish disregard of their students' interest.
Is it from them that we are asked to take advice on the cultural values of our society: the arts, the humanities, the civic virtues?
Mr. Chairman, it's not advice we require from these people, it's an apology. (Loud applause). [end p36]
They not only left us an economic ruin. They left us a culture in decline. They were well educated, sophisticated but their philosophy was simple: in dealing with the trade union negotiator, with the criminal, with our international adversaries, or even the child in the classroom, their answer was always the same: ‘Never say No’.
And now they see the legacy they've left they try to pin the blame on us. What colossal humbug. [end p37]
Where did the hooligans, the louts and the yobs on the late-night trains learn their contempt for the security of the law abiding citizen?
Mr. Chairman, in every community, there have to be rules by which to live. Yes, we believe in freedom.
But as Bernard Shaw said: Freedom incurs responsibility. In families, in the school, on television, in Parliament, those in positions of authority must never be afraid to draw the line. [end p38]
That's why Douglas Hurd and the Government toughened the law on the muggers and marauders. That's why we've increased penalties on drink-driving on drugs, on rape. That's why we've increased the police and strengthened their powers. That's why we've set up the Broadcasting Standards Council.
But Governments can only do so much. We look to parents, to spiritual leaders, to the broadcasters, the teachers, the ordinary citizen to recapture the habit of standing up and saying ‘No’ to those who deliberately defy every code of civilised conduct. [end p39]
For there can be no freedom without order, there can be no order without authority; and that authority that is impotent or hesitant in the face of intimidation, crime and violence, authority which is like that cannot endure. [end p40]
EUROPE
Mr Chairman, in a few weeks we shall be in the midst of an election for the European Parliament. Major issues face us about the direction which Europe should take.
There is no doubt about where we Conservatives stand. We haven't rejected socialist policies so decisively in Britain, only to see them imposed from Brussels. With the same disastrous consequences which socialism brings with it wherever it's practised.
We want a Europe based on willing and active co-operation between independent sovereign states, not a federal Europe. (Loud applause). [end p41]
We know that Europe's future prosperity depends on policies which encourage enterprise. We shall fight against a Socialist Europe with its attempts to establish a new bureaucracy, new restrictions and new controls on our lives.
We want more open trade both within Europe and with the rest of the world, provided everyone plays by the same rules.
We don't want to see Europe surrounded by a wall of protectionism. That's what others say too. Unfortunately their words are not always reflected in their actions. [end p42]
We want freedom of movement within Europe. But not freedom for drugs, illegal immigrants or terrorists. (Applause).
The European elections on 15 June will be vitally important.
At present the Centre-Right has a majority of only fifteen over the socialist parties. Just eight seats stand between us and left-wing control of the European Parliament. If our vision of Europe is to prevail, we've got to hold those seats and win some more. (Applause). [end p43]
EAST/WEST
Mr Chairman, we shall shortly be welcoming Mr Gorbachev on his third visit to Britain. I look forward to our talks very much.
We are witnessing a period of enormous change in the Soviet Union.
But periods of great change, concentrated into a short time, are also periods of uncertainty. [end p44]
None of us can be absolutely sure that the reforms will succeed. However much we want them to come about—and we do—we must not fall prey to wishful thinking. We are ready to join in lowering East/West tensions. What we are not ready to do is to take risks with our security. (Applause).
And nothing the Soviets have said or done is ground for believing that they will run military risks with their own security on the basis of assumptions about Western goodwill. [end p45]
The Soviet Union can afford to make reductions in its conventional forces. Even after the reductions which have been announced, they will still outnumber NATO's by at least 2 : 1.
So we have to be realistic about Soviet motives. Their strategy is to divide and weaken the West by getting American nuclear weapons out of Europe.
That would leave Europe a more dangerous place. Conventional weapons never deterred war as we have learnt to our cost twice in this century. [end p46]
It is only nuclear weapons, and the will to use them in the last resort, that deter war.
So it is absolutely vital for NATO to keep its defences—conventional and nuclear—strong and modernised.
That will be our approach to the NATO Summit at the end of May. It is an approach which President Bush has assured me the shares.
But, Mr Chairman, that's not the way the Labour Party approaches our Nation's security. They continue to wriggle and squirm to get off the unilateralist hook on which they have impaled themselves. [end p47]
They talk of something they call ‘reciprocal unilateralism—whatever that may mean. What it amounts to is that Britain abandons the surest means of preventing war—its nuclear weapons.
Out of the Labour Party's endless search for a defence policy which it can sell to the country come three things: —utter confusion. —a total lack of understanding of nuclear deterrence; —and a total inability to see that this country is properly defended. (Applause). [end p48]
That's why the British people and our country's defence will only be safe with a Conservative Government. [end p49]
CONCLUSION
Ten years on, Mr Chairman. But look how far we've come. A decade ago, we were a country in decline. Poor in spirit, we suffered from that most demoralising form of poverty: poverty of conviction. Britain was a country without a cause.
Ten years on: We are recovering our wealth. —we have recovered our spirit. And once more Britain has a sense of purpose. When they come here, our friends from abroad are astonished at our transformation. [end p50]
At home, there will be those who want to drag us back. The Labour Party, trapped in the potholes of history. The so-called Centre Parties, wandering aimlessly in the foothills. We shall not be distracted by voices from the past. Ten years on. And we are accused not of doing too little but of tackling too much. Other Parties deal in a daily diet of trivia. While we get on and tackle the real issues fearlessly and positively. (Applause). Challenges? We relish them. We've had ten years of them. [end p51]
So let us go forward together—as we have so often. Strong in our loyalties. Sure in our beliefs. Confident that once again we can shape the coming years in the service of our country. (Applause).