Des Fahey, IRN
Prime Minister, the Government's popularity has been falling in the polls and many people are saying that the main issue that is of concern to the people is unemployment. What did you have in mind when you set about these Cabinet changes?
Prime Minister
I set about them by trying to do something which would make it absolutely clear that we were doing everything possible to get more jobs. Jobs do not come from speeches; they come from more business. More business comes from enterprising people, enterprising companies. So I set out to give the Department of Employment not merely the task of recording employment or unemployment, not only the task of training people—which they are doing splendidly through the Manpower Services Commission—but to make it quite clear where jobs come from. They come from new small businesses; they come from tourism; they also come from small businesses growing bigger; but I wanted to put the jobs and the enterprise together, and that I believe is what we have done, and also I think we have got two extremely able Ministers, Lord Young of Graffham one in the Lords—the Lords is very very important these days—and Leon Brittanone in the Commons, a new, very able young Minister. All of that to show how concerned we are. [end p1]
Des Fahey, IRN
What exactly, though, will be Leon Brittan 's job? How will he be creating jobs to that extent?
Prime Minister
Well, Leon is Secretary of State for Trade and Industry. My goodness me, Trade and Industry is the sponsor Department for all private sector industry and of course for most of nationalised industry. It does all the negotiations for trade; does all the negotiations for innovation, for competition policy, for monopolies and mergers.
Now, I have also moved a former Minister from the Department of Employment, Peter Morrison, who has had terrific experience of getting young people trained for skills. I have moved him over to industry, to get maximum coordination.
But the message is: jobs come from enterprise. There are some enterprise duties now in Employment. The main enterprise duties are of course in the Department of Trade and Industry and, of course, Leon also has experience with the Treasury.
Part of our job as Government is to make jolly sure the tax incentives are enough, that they reward success and give people the incentive to build up new business.
So I think we have got now … . You can have, after you have been in Government for a time, a very effective link between Departments, each of whom understands the others' role much better and understand how it fits into the whole. [end p2]
Des Fahey, IRN
And you are quite confident that that team at the Department of Industry is a team that is going to convince industry that Government understands its problems?
Prime Minister
Oh, I hope we have been doing that for a very very long time!
Industry, if I might say so, has been doing very well indeed over the past 18 months. You know, profits have gone up enormously. Investment is at an all-time high. Industry is doing very well indeed. We just want more businesses doing well to take up the people who have not in fact got jobs.
We have in some areas—which is something for the Department of Employment to sort out—we have got two things at the same time: unemployment, and a shortage of skills. Now that is ridiculous. Ridiculous, particularly when we are spending such a large amount on training, and we have got to get that sorted out.
Des Fahey, IRN
What concern did you give to moving Douglas Hurd at this particular stage in the negotiations and the to-ing and fro-ing between Dublin and London and Belfast?
Prime Minister
Of course, I was concerned, because Douglas HurdDouglas has done a tremendous job as Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, and the talks are very well advanced, very well advanced indeed. I [end p3] had, when you do a reshuffle, to look at things as a whole and to make the best arrangement as a whole. Douglas has done a very good job and Tom Kinga very senior Minister will be taking over, also with very considerable talents: very good negotiator, great experience of, again, job creation, needed in Northern Ireland and a very nice way of dealing with people, which is very necessary when you are undertaking negotiations of a delicate nature like this.
Des Fahey, IRN
All in all, it must have been a fairly difficult job to make decisions like the ones that you have been making over recent days about loyal colleagues?
Prime Minister
It is always gruelling. I think every Prime Minister hates it, because you know, you have to say goodbye from the Cabinet to friends when you have served together for many many years. We all know it has to be done, but that does not make it nice when it comes, and it is gruelling. It is not very nice for them either, because I know that when they come into that room to see me, they come in with all the prestige of being an excellent Minister, the salary that goes with it and a car, and when they go out you know it is one of the only jobs in Britain where you go out where your salary ceases immediately, your car is stopped and so much of your prestige tends to have gone. It ought not to.
Can I say this to the media: I have said goodbye to some marvellous Ministers who served Britain to the highest standards of public service with so much integrity and sense of duty. They [end p4] will go on supporting our policies, and as I saw them I just thought: “Are we not fortunate to have people who will come into the public service like this and have also such a good team coming as well as such wonderful people going on to the backbenches” so please make it clear that they have given valiant service to our country.
Des Fahey, IRN
And you are convinced that those decisions are going to result in more jobs?
Prime Minister
I am convinced that we are going to not only do everything possible to encourage job creation, but be seen to do everything possible, and that too is important.
Des Fahey, IRN
Prime Minister, thank you very much indeed.
Prime Minister
Thank you.