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House of Commons

Friday 7 December 1990

The House met at half-past Nine o'clock

PRAYERS

[Mr. Speaker-- in the Chair ]

BILL PRESENTED

Education Provision

Mr. Roger Sims presented a Bill to amend the law in regard to parental preference relating to school admission arrangements made by local education authorities : And the same was read the First time ; and ordered to be read a Second time upon Friday 25 January and to be printed. [Bill 41.]

PETITION

London Ambulance Service

9.34 am

Mr. Nigel Spearing (Newham, South) : I beg leave to present a petition from more than 380 members of the London ambulance service :

To the honourable Commons of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland in Parliament assembled ; The humble petition of personnel of the London ambulance service, sheweth that whereas the people of London were subject to grievous risk arising from a dispute, which in the opinion of your petitioners was beyond their power to prevent in a manner consistent with their public duty, repetition of which they and all citizens of London are determined to avoid : the root causes of that dispute have not yet been addressed and therefore unless and until there is a full and proper public examination of the financing, organisation and operation of the London ambulance service there remains a great and continuing risk to the health and welfare of all Londoners.

Wherefore your petitioners pray that your honourable House will draw these matters to the attention of one of the Committees selected to consider matters of public health, in particular to draw their attention to the undoubted and unchallenged need for a service adequately resourced, equipped and organised to respond to immediate or emergency calls in a manner at least as effective as that hitherto provided and to further note that in the opinion of your petitioners such a service, if it is to be effective, must be closely associated with provision of services for an increasing number of injured, disabled, convalescent or gravely ill persons requiring skilled attention during specialised transport to and from centres of medical treatment.

And your petitioners, as in duty bound, will ever pray, &c. To lie upon the Table.


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Political Developments

9.36 am

Mr. David Amess (Basildon) : I beg to move,

That this House notes the political developments in the United Kingdom since 1979 ; salutes the right honourable Member for Finchley for the part she has played in these developments ; congratulates her upon her leadership of the country as Prime Minister for eleven and a half years and pays tribute to the many fine personal qualities that she brought to the performance of her duties, including, in particular, her integrity, steadfastness and courage ; and looks forward to her continued contribution to the political life of this country.

When I entered Parliament in 1983 I scarcely believed that I would be moving a motion such as the one that I am moving today against the background of such circumstances. When my good fortune in the ballot was drawn to my attention, I resolved to speak on this subject in anger and with sadness. Allowing for calm reflection, I am even more pleased that I came to that firm decision so quickly, as I now have the opportunity to put on record something which I hope, in years to come, will serve in some way as a fitting tribute to my right hon. Friend the Member for Finchley (Mrs. Thatcher).

At the outset I purposely drafted the motion in terms that both the Labour party and the alliance parties would be able to accept. Whatever they think of my right hon. Friend, to have held the position of Prime Minister for some eleven and a half years--the longest period since Lord Liverpool--is a truly remarkable and daunting achievement, particularly when one considers that in the modern world the pressures of being First Lord of the Treasury are far greater than they were more than a century ago. Indeed, I know well that many Opposition Members admire my right hon. Friend the Member for Finchley for the way in which she stuck to her principles throughout her period in office. The Labour party feels that if, during that same period, someone of such firm resolve had emerged from among its number it would not be in the powerless position that it is in today.

I very much hope that the House will agree that the terms of the motion allow hon. Members to participate in a wide-ranging debate so that we can closely examine the political philosophies of the parties who send representatives to the House.

I have never thought of the House as a modest place, yet one has only to read The House Magazine to learn how hon. Members reluctantly occupy their present positions. What absolute nonsense! Members of Parliament, by their natures, are pushy and ambitious people, and I include myself in that. The Benches heave with over-ambition, and sometimes it is sad that we cannot clearly recognise our own limitations. In all modesty, I have recognised my own limitations quite clearly.

Political developments since 1979 cannot be explained without examining developments in the Conservative and Labour parties in the years before that historic event. Before doing so, I cannot proceed without commenting in some detail on recent traumatic events. When my party decided that there should be a contest for the leadership, I was horrified and immediately recalled the lines of the song, "That ain't no way to treat a lady." Whatever the collective view of the party, I could not believe that we would embark on a highly public spectacle, with the drama intensified through the television, newspapers and radio.


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Perhaps I am old fashioned in these matters, but, as my hon. Friend the Member for Halesowen and Stourbridge (Sir J. Stokes) said, what has happened to chivalry?

The challenge of my right hon. Friend the Member for Finchley against my right hon. Friend the Member for Old Bexley and Sidcup (Mr. Heath) in 1975 took place in entirely different circumstances. The main difference was that we had lost three general elections and had dramatically changed our policies. I can recall sitting a political paper at college which specifically referred to Conservative party U-turns. My right hon. Friend the Member for Old Bexley and Sidcup was the Leader of the Opposition at that time, but the recent leadership contest took place while my right hon. Friend the Member for Finchley was Prime Minister and after we had won three general elections in a row, which is not a bad record by any standards.

The leadership rules of our party are complete nonsense, and were devised by someone who is not even a member of it. It seems bizarre that a candidate can lose with 204 votes but win with 185. I readily admit that in both ballots I voted for the person who obtained the highest number of votes. I very much hope that my party will take a strong grip on our internal organisation to ensure that the present system is scrapped and that Prime Ministers can no longer be challenged. I make no criticism whatsoever of the personal position of any of the challengers ; it is the system that I blame. It is one of the further, more extraordinary conclusions that can be drawn from the years when my right hon. Friend the Member for Finchley led our party that she fundamentally influenced the changes in the leadership of the Labour party and yet ultimately sacrificed herself to change the leadership rules of our own party.

Much as I regret recent events, I shall always regard it as a privilege and an honour to have served in two consecutive Parliaments with my right hon. Friend the Member for Finchley as leader of the Conservative party and Prime Minister. It was because of her that I won my seat in 1983, and since that time Basildon has enjoyed increasing prosperity and improvements in lifestyle.

I wish that I had, even in some small measure, the integrity, steadfastness and courage that my right hon. Friend the Member for Finchley has always displayed. At the age of 11, I decided that I wanted to be a Member of Parliament. That was the ambition of a boy living in the constituency of Newham, North-West, which returned the first ever Labour Member of Parliament--Keir Hardie. I did not form that ambition because of parental influence or anything that I read. I had a wonderful home life and went to an excellent school, which, as was quite common at the time, had 50 children in the classroom. My word, how times have changed as a result of the Government's excellent education polices.

I decided at an early age that what was around my local environment was, to put it crudely, rotten, and I looked to blame those who were responsible for running the town's affairs--the Labour party. Everything in Newham was Labour--even the pillar boxes were red. I determined to oppose those in power on the simple premise that, in my short lifetime, I had seen a deterioration in my local environment.


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The modernisation of the Conservative party goes back to when the noble Lord Home was Prime Minister. I have always held him in the highest esteem. He behaved most honourably when he was removed as leader of our party. A steady change in the Conservative party took place at the precise time that I became interested in politics. When it is asked, "Which party is interested in a classless society?", as my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister recently asked, the answer is quite clear--the Conservative party. We elected a grammar school boy as our leader. He was preceded by the daughter of a grocer, who was preceded by the son of a builder.

Perhaps it should not be such a surprise that someone with as humble a background as myself should have become a Conservative Member of Parliament rather than a Labour Member of Parliament. There I was, living in a tiny terraced house with an outside toilet and tin bath. My father was an electrician and my mother a dressmaker and tea lady--not quite the pedigree of my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister, with his vaudeville background. There is no doubt in my mind that the election of my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister, with actions speaking louder than words, is clear proof that class is no barrier to achievement in the Conservative party.

Mr. Bruce Grocott (The Wrekin) : Tell us about the rest of the Cabinet.

Mr. Amess : I will come to that later.

I have no doubt that Labour is wholly associated--and even obsessed--with class ; one has only to listen to some union leaders to realise that. The Labour party believes that the working classes have to be kept in their places. As a Newham boy, I was having none of that.

I want to turn to the development of conservatism and of socialism up to the historic moment when my right hon. Friend the Member for Finchley entered Downing street for the first time on 4 May 1979. The defeat of Winston Churchill in the general election after the war will always serve as a salutary lesson, especially in the light of present events. It showed that gratitude can never, and should never, be taken for granted.

The Labour Government introduced massive nationalisation, and state controls and restrictions, thus behaving in a perfectly honourable fashion following their deeply held belief in socialism and in the power of the state. The Labour Government was followed by 13 years of Conservative Government from 1951. Our party pursued our equally deeply held views on the powers of the individual. During that period, a 50 per cent. increase in the standard of living was achieved--a greater increase than had been achieved in the previous half century. Prices were stable, income tax was cut four times, and almost 5 million new homes were built. The economic growth allowed for record improvements in education, in health, in pensions and in other benefits.

Towards the end of that period, Hugh Gaitskell made what will always stand as a courageous attempt to retain pure socialist principles within the Labour party's alternative policy programme. He lost, although his "fight, fight and fight again" speech still strikes a chord with many people today.

The noble Lord Wilson, who formed his first Government in 1954, was the dominant political figure during my early years. History will judge him to be a masterful political operator, although his leadership of the


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Labour party meant that socialism untimately lost its relevance and its way. My right hon. Friend the Member for Finchley may remember a quotation from a Conservative party conference lecture that she gave in 1968. She said :

"What we need now is a far greater degree of personal responsibility and decision, far more independence from the Government and a comparative reduction in the role of Government." She was far-sighted enough then to recognise the shortcomings of Lord Wilson's Labour Government.

From 1964, the annual rise in living standards, an accustomed and expected feature of the post-war period, slowed almost to a standstill. I make no apology for drawing the attention of the House to how Labour behaved when it was in office.

Mr. Grocott : On a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. I am reluctant to intervene because I am quite enjoying this individualistic interpretation of history. However, I must point out that the motion could not be broader as it refers to "political developments since 1979". I should have been delighted if the motion had dealt with developments since 1964, but it does not. May we please stick to 1979?

Madam Deputy Speaker (Miss Betty Boothroyd) : I am sure that the hon. Member for Basildon (Mr. Amess) is simply warming up in his speech.

Mr. Amess : I thank you for that encouragement, Madam Deputy Speaker. I knew that I had struck a chord when I drew the hon. Member for The Wrekin (Mr. Grocott) to the Dispatch Box.

Between 1964 and 1968, the rise in the standard of living averaged no more than 0.5 per cent. a year. In 1966 and in 1967, real living standards fell on average for the first time in living memory. Over the whole six years of the Labour Government, real disposable income had increased on average by scarcely more than 1 per cent. a year compared with 2.8 per cent. in the 1950s. Increased taxation had bitten into real incomes. Under Lord Wilson, taxes had risen at twice the rate of average earnings, yet little, if any redistribution to help the less-well-off had been achieved. So much for Labour promises then.

Mr. Matthew Carrington (Fulham) : Does my hon. Friend recall, as I do, a television broadcast made by the noble Lord Wilson in 1967, at the time that the pound was devalued? Lord Wilson said that the pound in people's pockets would not be devalued. Will my hon. Friend reflect on the honesty of that Government? On the one hand, they claimed that they were protecting the pound in the citizen's pocket while, on the other, they were destroying the economy and the wealth of the nation.

Mr. Amess : I wholly agree with my hon. Friend. It was from that point that socialism could withstand little examination by the general public. That is why, during the 1979 election campaign, we were right to demonstrate, by using shopping baskets, how people could not buy as much food for their money as a result of the Labour Government's management of the economy. With the growing strength of the unions, a once great nation began to move down the path of decline until the country was transformed under the leadership of my right hon. Friend the Member for Finchley.

That path was interrupted by a Conservative Government led by the right hon. Member for Old Bexley


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and Sidcup between 1970 and 1974. He came to office pledging to change the course of the history of this nation, and he certainly achieved that. He inspired my right hon. Friend the Member for Finchley to embark on her radical programme, which transformed the fortunes of this nation in 1979.

My right hon. and learned Friend the Member for Surrey, East (Sir G. Howe) said recently that our membership of the European Community had been coloured by our not having been one of the founding members. That is obviously true when we judge the attitudes adopted towards my right hon. Friend the Member for Finchley by other European leaders. Some commentators have argued that our eventual entry into the European Community was embarked on under largely unfavourable terms for this country. There has been a difficult battle since then to retain British interests within the market.

My right hon. Friend the Member for Old Bexley and Sidcup had the positive intention to set the economy free and to bring the unions within a democratic framework of law. The Industrial Relations Act 1971 proved unworkable and the point was reached when it became politically impossible for the unions to enter any form of effective agreement on pay with the Conservative Government. By 1973, the trade unions and the Labour party had become similar to Siamese twins. An extraordinary decision was then taken to hold a quite unnecessary general election in which people were asked to decide whether the Government or the trade unions should run the country. If one asks a silly question, one must expect a silly answer. Political chaos resulted and the Liberal party was even offered a share of government. As Conservative Members have always known, the Liberals are socialists and would work only with the Labour party and with a Labour Government. The record of the Liberal party's action over the past two decades makes that clear.

The public had watched on their television screens trade union leaders going in and out of Downing street. It was at that point that my right hon. Friend the Member for Finchley was inspired to embark on her historic journey. The House will not need reminding of the sordid affair that the Labour party had with the Liberal party between 1974 and 1979, when they shared government. It was the most disastrous time in the history of the nation.

As a result of Lord Wilson's equivocation, the left took over the Labour party completely. We all suffered and were made to pay as a result of the party's small-minded determination to get even in what is described as the class war. The strength of the left very nearly enabled the right hon. Member for Blaenau Gwent (Mr. Foot) to become Prime Minister. It certainly helped to prevent Shirley Williams from becoming deputy leader of the Labour party.

In government, Labour continued to pursue ineffective and profligate policies. In the first years of the so-called social contract, inflation soared to 27 per cent. and the miners were bought off with a pay increase of 22 per cent. By June 1979, earnings had increased by an average of 26.6 per cent. and weekly wage rates by a staggering 33 per cent.

In exchange for their restored legal immunities and for food subsidies and price and rent controls contained in the first Budget introduced by the right hon. Member for Leeds, East (Mr. Healey), as well as the "howls of anguish" that the right hon. Gentleman promised to


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extract from the rich, the unions delivered nothing. Living standards continued to fall throughout the mid and late 1970s. In December 1973, the real weekly take-home pay of a married couple with two children averaged £70.20 per week. By 1977 it had fallen to £63.10 a week. What a shameful record from the party that has the cheek to lecture us about living standards.

In the late 1970s, the right hon. Member for Leeds, East had to go cap in hand to the IMF asking it to bail us out. Now, lower taxes and ever- increasing expenditure on public services ensure that Britain has a level of growth and prosperity second to none. Ten years on, the Labour party has become the party of decline, the party of the trade unions, the party of the council estates, the party of the industrial heartlands of south Wales, Scotland and the north. In 1979, trade unionists represented 30 per cent. of the electorate ; in 1987, they represented only 22 per cent.

Mr. David Wilshire (Spelthorne) : My hon. Friend is listing the failings of the Labour party. He is in danger of omitting inflation. Is my hon. Friend aware that, in 1987, the Labour party was selling a wonderful glossy colour brochure for 75p? The other day, however, it was peddling a slimmer volume, with no full colour pictures, at £1.50. Does not that prove that Labour is still the party of inflation?

Mr. Amess : I intend to leave no stone unturned, and I can assure my hon. Friend that I shall be coming to that.

In 1979, 35 per cent. of all households were housed in council houses. I am delighted to be able to tell the House that the figure has now shrunk to 27 per cent. The conservatism of my right hon. Friend the Member for Finchley has appealed to all classes in Britain in a way that class-conscious socialism never can. In 1976, my right hon. Friend said :

"It is the Conservatives and not the Socialists who represent the true interests and hopes and aspirations of working people." Since 1979, the hallmark of the Conservatives has been our ability to give freedom back to individuals and to give them greater choice and responsibility in the management of their lives.

Mr. Robert G. Hughes (Harrow, West) : My hon. Friend is perhaps not being entirely fair to the Labour party. Does not he agree that it was not unreasonable of the Labour party to oppose the sale of council houses given that, in some inner-London areas, it has lived for years on bribing people with offers of houses or flats to get their votes? It is bound not to want to sell them.

Mr. Amess : I entirely accept my hon. Friend's strictures. He knows very well from his time at the GLC of the bribery of which the Labour party is capable in housing management. We certainly still suffer from that in Basildon, but we are dealing with it through a programme of housing association involvement.

In education, the Conservative party has given people greater choice in deciding how their children should be taught. I know that my hon. Friend the Member for Billericay (Mrs. Gorman) is absolutely delighted that a school in my constituency of Basildon has become the first grant-maintained school in Essex--thanks, in no small measure, to my right hon. Friend the Member for Finchley.


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The number of home owners continues to increase under this Government. I am proud and delighted that the first

rents-into-mortgages scheme in England has been introduced in my constituency of Basildon--greatly encouraged by my hon. Friend the Member for Billericay.

Ms. Harriet Harman (Peckham) : How many applications have there been?

Mr. Amess : I am delighted to tell the House that, although Labour rubbished the scheme, hoping for a similar response to that in Scotland, we have had in just three weeks more than 1,000 genuine inquiries about our rents-into-mortgages scheme. That is a success by any standards. We shall continue to encourage and help those people to fulfil their dreams of a lifetime and own their own homes. In the health service, details have been announced this week of 56 self-governing hospitals. I understand that Basildon and Thurrock health authority is to have its programme looked at carefully in the next 18 months.

It is not just at home that my right hon. Friend the Member for Finchley proved herself such an outstanding leader. Her contributions in defence and foreign affairs have meant that Britain is truly respected as one of the great powers in the world today. The nations of eastern Europe have been inspired to shake off the burdens of socialism and take charge of their own destiny. There can be no doubt that the inspiration given to those countries by my right hon. Friend was instrumental in precipitating the events of the past year. Who could have imagined, eleven and a half years ago, the changes that have come about in Poland, Germany, Czechoslovakia, Hungary and even the Soviet Union?

What can the Labour party teach us about freedom and choice? Not a great deal, judging by its record. In the past 10 years, Labour Members have voted against every Budget that has reduced income tax and every privatisation measure that has helped to spread share ownership. They voted against the right to buy, which allowed council tenants to purchase their homes. They have regularly voted against the renewal of the prevention of terrorism legislation, which has been essential in curbing the threat posed by the IRA. Make no mistake about it : Labour would reverse all the positive achievements of the past 11 years.

Mr. Robert G. Hughes : At last my hon. Friend is being fair to the Labour party, which has at least been consistent. It has supported every damaging strike in this country since 1979.

Mr. Amess : My hon. Friend is right to draw my attention to that. I am delighted to announce that this year the number of days lost as a result of industrial action has been the lowest ever. If there were ever a Labour Government--God forbid--they would benefit initially from the achievements inspired by my right hon. Friend the Member for Finchley.

Mr. Tony Favell (Stockport) : Does my hon. Friend recall the power that trade union leaders possessed under the last Labour Government? Whenever there was a crisis, who should appear on television but Hugh Scanlon or that man Jones ; or the one from Wales, Clive Jenkins, who no doubt has been living in the lap of luxury in the Antipodes. They were running the country then.


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Mr. Amess : My hon. Friend is right. In fact, it went further than that. Those people were eventually brought into the Government. That is why my right hon. Friend the Member for Old Bexley and Sidcup held an election in 1974, but he asked the nation a most inappropriate question.

The Labour party may dress up its intentions in moderate language and talk about social ownership or public interest companies, but that really means renationalisation. Take away the red rose and we are left with the left flag of full blooded socialism. The hon. Member for Brent, East (Mr. Livingstone) predicted that, if the Labour party won the next general election, in the ensuing economic crisis the party, led by the right hon. Member for Islwyn (Mr. Kinnock), would move firmly to the left.

There may be certain moderate Members among those who sit on the Opposition Benches, but surveys at the grass roots clearly show that 92 per cent. of Labour party members want higher taxes. Therefore, our spokesmen should continue to come to the Dispatch Box and tell the nation that it can expect higher taxes. They should not be afraid to do that ; they should be proud to do it.

Mr. Tony Banks (Newham, North-West) : I have been listening quietly and respectfully for long enough to get the drift of the hon. Gentleman's speech. Is he not aware that all the recent opinion polls show that if people are given a choice between the possibility of higher taxes and greater spending in areas of social need they are prepared to accept higher taxes? The Labour party is not saying that ; the population as a whole is saying it.

Mr. Amess : I entirely respect the hon. Gentleman's position. He has always been honest in the House about where he stands on these issues. However, I genuinely take no notice of opinion polls.

Mr. Carrington : Given what the hon. Member for Newham, North-West (Mr. Banks) said, perhaps I can help my hon. Friend the Member for Basildon (Mr. Amess). When the question was put in a slightly different way in the opinion polls and people were asked whether they thought that they were paying too much tax, the answer was always "yes". My hon. Friend the Member for Basildon is absolutely right not to pay attention to the polls. They are contradictory.

Mr. Amess : My hon. Friend is absolutely right. If we were to follow opinion polls, persumably all Labour Members would, on Monday week, troop through the Division Lobby and vote with me for the restoration of capital punishment. That is what the opinion polls state. Similarly, if we follow opinion polls, Labour Members should also have followed me in the Lobby when we voted on abortion and embryo research. However, politics does not work like that. I represent a constituency which in some senses could be described as marginal. However, I was not running scared when I read the opinion polls in respect of what has happened in recent weeks. I was all for fighting it out and continuing on with our Conservative policies. I was not the least bit worried about opinion polls. I will explain later why I think that the hon. Member for Newham, North-West (Mr. Banks) is wrong, and we will judge at the general election who was right.


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Seventy three per cent. of Opposition Members support secondary picketing and 68 per cent. of them support unilateral nuclear disarmament. The right hon. Member for Islwyn still owns a CND badge and he is proud of it, but that sentiment is not reflected in the opinion polls.

There is a view that my right hon. Friend the Member for Finchley led us to three general election victories because the Opposition were split. That view is facile. She carried the ground from Labour. She talked to the blue collar workers in terms that they understood. People who were fed up with hard socialism wanted something a little short of that, but they were disappointed.

Mr. Tony Banks : I accept that the hon. Gentleman may have covered this point earlier when regrettably I was not in the Chamber, but, in the circumstances he has just described, if the right hon. Lady is such a paragon of virtue and a great achiever, why did the Conservative party dump her?

Mr. Amess : I am afraid that I may tax the patience of Madam Deputy Speaker if I answer the hon. Gentleman because I spent about 10 minutes on that. However, I will pass a copy of my speech to the hon. Gentleman--

Madam Deputy Speaker : It would be tedious repetition.

Mr. Amess : The public were served up with a brilliant maverick in the form of the right hon. Member for Plymouth, Devonport (Dr. Owen) when the alliance was established. However, that was followed by sheer opportunism in the marriage and sordid divorce between the right hon. Member for Devonport and the right hon. Member for Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale (Sir D. Steel). They entered the 1987 general election proclaiming that it was time for a change and they heralded a new style in politics. However, when the Conservatives were returned with a majority of 101, the so-called alliance party let the British people down. That party should be ashamed of itself, and we Conservatives will never let it forget what happened.

Mrs. Ray Michie (Argyll and Bute) : The hon. Gentleman does not understand what happened. We went into that election as two parties and as an alliance. We promised that we would merge and we did so. it was entirely up to the right hon. Member for Plymouth, Devonport (Dr. Owen) to go off on his own. However, the two parties merged into one solid Liberal Democrat party.

Mr. Amess : I understand the hon. Lady's position, and of course she would say that. My recollection of events is very different. We all saw on television the closeness between the then two leaders of the alliance, but they fell out publicly the day after the election. They presented a dishonest sham to the British public. They were after short-term popularity to try to collect up the middle ground, but they showed themselves to be dishonest. We will never let the British public forget what you did, whether you call yourself the Liberal party or-- Madam Deputy Speaker : Order. I certainly do not call myself the Liberal party.

Mr. Amess : I apologise for drawing you into these matters, Madam Deputy Speaker. Perhaps I should move on because I am getting over-excited. The public divorce took place as one of the party leaders stabbed the other in the back.


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Whatever people say, they want to vote into office a Government of principle. The Conservative party has been successful in clearly articulating our policies and objectives. That has been re-emphasised under the leadership of the new Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Huntingdon (Mr. Major). Others just blow in the wind. One cannot possibly build a party on shifting sand. The Labour party today is a disgrace. It is totally lacking in principles. It always used to be the Liberals who had no policies, but it is now also the Labour party. Whenever Labour Members find a Conservative policy to be popular and successful, they copy it, but they can never bring themselves to be honest and admit what they are actually doing. That is called designer socialism.

Mr. Grocott : While the hon. Gentleman is dealing with the alleged lack of Labour party policy on various issues, will he tell us, because we are unclear about it, the precise Conservative policy on the poll tax?

Mr. Amess : I shall shortly draw my remarks to a conclusion. [Interruption.] I can be encouraged to continue. The hon. Member for The Wrekin will be very glad to know that I shall deal with Europe, the management of the economy, and the community charge. I dodge no issues.

As far as the Labour party is concerned, whatever the public want, they can have. What a way to present an alternative Government. Today I do not know what socialism as espoused by the Labour party is. Eastern bloc countries have been honest enough to admit that socialism has been disastrous for the fortune of their nations. They have categorically rejected socialism and everything for which it stands. They want no part whatsoever in what the Labour party stands for, and they take their lead from the achievements of my right hon. Friend the Member for Finchley.

I said that the Labour party has no policies. I now admit that I was wrong, and I stand corrected. It has one policy--and it is very good at it : spending money. Labour Members kid the public that, whatever the issue, they will be able to manage our affairs in such a way that they can spend more money than we are able to spend at the moment. They kid people that they can make their lives better and cure the problems with which we are grappling. They are even dishonest enough to pretend that their spending programme will not mean much higher taxes for the majority of the British people. Nothing has changed in what the Labour party represents.

We judge Labour Members on their record when they were last in office ; and they left an appalling legacy in 1979, with which my right hon. Friend the Member for Finchley had so successfully to deal. The management of the economy, our role in Europe and the financial relationship between local government and central Government are all matters that the Conservative party is facing up to and dealing with.

Our present economic policies will substantially reduce inflation and allow my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer eventually to reduce interest rates.

In Europe, everything that has happened until now, including the single market, has been in favour of free trade. In future, though, we will be asked to look at a


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single currency, which would mean one economy and one Government. I am totally opposed to such an eventuality, as are the overwhelming majority of the British public.

Where does the Labour party stand on Europe? Every year it has changed its position according to how it judges opinion polls. Where do the 209 Labour Members of Parliament stand on Europe? Now that my right hon. Friend the Member for Finchley is no longer to be harangued, Labour Members must now tell us where they stand on Europe.

If one is looking for a silver lining to the cloud of my right hon. Friend's departure, commentators will now have to examine the real issues and not put the matter down to what they perceive as the cussedness of my right hon. Friend. The other 11 European leaders will no longer be able to sit on their hands, and they will also have to stand up and be counted. That will be extremely interesting because of what it will reveal about the true relationship between European leaders.

The Government are clearly determined to resolve the mechanics of local government finance. That is why I am so pleased that my hon. Friend the Member for Enfield, Southgate (Mr. Portillo) is responsible for the sensible management of local government finance. Whatever might be said now or in the future, the community charge is a step forward in promoting accountability and the idea of us all making a contribution to the support of local services. That concept is widely accepted. The problem has been the level of charges that has been set and the overspending of local authorities, highlighted by the overspending of socialist-controlled Basildon district council. It is the worst offender in the country. Last year it was 196 per cent. above the standard spending assessment--more than double the performance of any other local authority.

However, the constituency of Basildon, which I represent, is a shining example of the success of the Conservative Government since 1979. It is the most exciting town in the country, with the most wonderful community in which one could wish to live. The town is well placed to meet the competitive challenges that lie ahead of us with the changing face of the world, and of Europe in particular. On the evening of the resignation of my right hon. Friend the Member for Finchley, I walked down Whitehall to No. 10 Downing street and delivered a letter. What immediately struck me was the visible element of society who were celebrating her departure. Outside Downing street were a group of people who, at the very best, could be described as the worst type of political organisation in this country. That was compounded by some European politicians' ungracious remarks that were later shown on television. Then came word that Saddam Hussein was pleased at what had happened.

If, until then, there had been a doubt in some people's minds, the stark reality of what we had done became clear. The world drew its breath at the departure of my right hon. Friend as Prime Minister. Throughout that period she behaved with dignity. That cannot be said of others. That woman had been, throughout the past decade, responsible for restoring the self- confidence of our nation, meeting people's aspirations, and raising people's views of what they could achieve. She emerged, when Britain was seen as a second-rate nation, to become the most formidable politician in the world--someone to whom the world listened, whether it be in partnership with the American


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President, or as a catalyst for the end of the cold war with the Soviet Union. For those and many other reasons, I hope that she will continue to contribute to the political life of this country. Perhaps the greatest tribute to my right hon. Friend the Member for Finchley should be seen in the character of the person who succeeded her as Prime Minister. On Tuesday, an historic moment took place when the present Prime Minister and his predecessor were presented to our party. My right hon. Friend the Member for Huntingdon said : "Conservatism will remain a word for economic progress, social mobility and for the individual dignity that is the natural right of every citizen."

That message was made possible and believable thanks to the leadership of the country that was given by my right hon. Friend the Member for Finchley as Prime Minister for eleven and a half years. The final tribute that anyone could pay my right hon. Friend now is to unite behind our new Prime Minister and to make certain that her magnificent legacy is not destroyed by any socialist entering No. 10 Downing street at the next general election.

10.30 am


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