Note: the text is based on transcripts
held at the Conservative Party Archive at the Bodleian Library, and Dr Michael Pearce's
transcripts of tapes held at the Election Broadcast Archive, University of
Leeds.
2nd April 1979
MARGARET THATCHER:
Before I reply to last week's ministerial broadcast,
there are just two things I would like to say about the tragic murder of
my friend and colleague Airy Neave. First, I want to thank the Prime Minister
for his generous tribute to a political opponent; Airy himself was a generous
man he would have liked that. Second, when something like this happens,
it's a moving experience to see how the nation instinctively closes ranks.
Anyone who thinks that terrorism is the way to divide us, or to weaken
our resolve, doesn't know the British people.
Now let me turn to the task ahead. Last Wednesday, for the first time
in over fifty years, the House of Commons asserted its right to dismiss
the government, so there'll be a general election on the third of May.
The following evening you heard from the Prime Minister one view of what's
happening in Britain today. It sounded - it was meant to sound - as if
everything was going pretty well under Labour. Or at least if it wasn't,
it would be all right tomorrow. My impression is rather different. We've
just had a devastating winter of industrial strife, perhaps the worst in
living memory - certainly the worst in mine. We saw the sick refused admission
to hospital, we saw people unable to bury their dead, we saw children locked
out of their schools, we saw the country virtually at the mercy of secondary
pickets and strike committees, and we saw a government apparently helpless
to do anything about it. It's a thousand pities they didn't take up our
offer of support to deal with some of these matters in January. Together,
I believe we could have stopped them happening again. Now we'll just have
to do the job ourselves.
But it's not just this winter that things have been going wrong. Of
course there's been a world recession, of course every country's faced
great problems - but other countries have tackled them very much better
than we have, despite the fact that we have North Sea oil and they haven't.
Today we're not just marking time, we're actually falling further and further
behind. I don't ask you to take my word for this. The other day the Bank
of England showed that even Italy is increasing its rate of production
twice as fast as we are. And our most successful competitors are going
ahead as much as six times as fast - despite that same world recession.
The truth is that too many of the real success stories are being written
in other countries, not in Labour Britain.
Now I know there are people who feel that this is all somehow inevitable,
that there's not much any of us can do about it, and that it won't make
much difference whichever party is in power. It will you know. There's
a world of difference between our way and the Socialist way. I believe
that anything other countries can achieve, we can. We have the people,
we have the skill, we have the resources. We've not been allowed to make
the best of them, that's the trouble. To make it worthwhile to go out and
get on in this country again, we've got to cut taxes. The tax on earnings,
the tax on savings, the tax on talent. That means we've got to stop government
spending so much of our money. When a government won't economise, it means
that every family in the country has to do so instead. Every extra pound
spent on tax is a pound less to spend on things the family needs: on food,
heating bills, running a home or running a car. It means there's that much
less to spend on the children, or helping one's parents. That's what it's
all about.
Then we must do more to stop the terrible rise in crime and
vandalism. To raise standards in education, to give more families the chance
to buy their own home. That's the way we used to do things when it was
you the citizen who came first, and not the state. Labour called them the
thirteen wasted years. Wasted? With the Conservatives, there were far fewer
unemployed, and as for prices there was nothing to compare with the increases
that we've had in the last five years under Labour. Of course we all want
better hospitals, better schools, but we have to earn the money to pay
for them. Mr Callaghan tried to frighten you with a picture of Conservatives
tearing everything up by the roots. But we're the party of roots, of tradition.
Paying your way isn't tearing up things by the roots. Paying your way's
good husbandry. Paying your way is planting for the future.
In the next few weeks I'll try to tell you the sort of country I want
to see, and how I think we can achieve it together. And I promise you this.
I won't make empty promises. I won't pretend that everything that's gone
wrong can be put right over-night. It's taken years to undermine our country.
It will take time to rebuild. But the job can be done; it must be done
- that is the conviction that sustains me and that is my abiding faith.
We're at the spring time of the year. The traditional season of hope
and new beginnings. I think we all know in our hearts: it's time for a
change.
19th April 1979
MALE 'SPORTS COMMENTATOR':
Welcome to the international prosperity race
run over five years. Look at these two fine runners Brown and Wood, representing
Great Britain - full of talent, enthusiasm and raring to go.
And they're off. Brown's pulling ahead - oh what a joy it is to see
this boy go. Wood isn't far behind. They're leading the field. A fine start
for this British pair ... And what's happened here? Ah the British Labour
party, managing this year's team, have decided it isn't fair on Wood if
Brown leads, so they're actually going to handicap Brown with a large weight
to give Wood a chance to catch up. What a weight - record taxation.
ANONYMOUS MALE:
Since Labour came to power in 1974, the British working
man has been weighed down by more and more tax. More direct taxes, like
income tax. In fact more tax on almost everything you earn and much of
what you buy.
OTHER ANONYMOUS VOICE:
More?
ANONYMOUS MALE:
Fact. No other major industrial country in the world
extracts a higher rate of income tax from both its high and low paid citizens
than the present Labour government.
MALE 'SPORTS COMMENTATOR':
[The fellow?] he's gamely carrying on. But
now Great Britain's other challenge is coming up on the inside. Oh what
a runner this boy is, he's getting into his stride, he can't fail. [Oh
look] here's the British Labour managers coming on once more. And now they're
trying to stop Wood getting ahead. Can't they leave our boys alone? They've
produced higher unemployment. Now what a weight this is round the neck
of the British man.
ANOTHER MAN:
People say that the Labour party's the working man's party.
But that's nonsense. Their policies of high taxation actually discourage
people from working - sometimes stop them all together, so they end up
on the dole queue.
MALE 'SPORTS COMMENTATOR':
What a burden. But still they're fighting
on. Brown is getting his second wind, they're neck and neck, but the British
effort is [?] they're slowing down under the weight of this Labour government.
It can't be long now before the French and Germans catch up, not to mention
the Japanese who are coming fast on the outside lane. Our boys are really
going to have to watch out for these foreign competitors. Hello, the British
Labour managers are coming on again. Yes they must be there to take off
some of the weights. No, no, no, they've got two more weights to [hold
down?] the British team. Record inflation. They can't be serious.
ANONYMOUS MALE:
Fact. Since Labour came to power we've had the worse
peace-time inflation since the Great Plague, over three hundred years ago.
MALE 'SPORTS COMMENTATOR':
Britain is looking pretty sick now, I must
say. France and Germany are now way ahead, and that little dot on the horizon
is the Japanese team. The British team is doing badly, very badly indeed.
We're giving this one away.
ANONYMOUS MALE:
Why have we fallen so far behind? High taxation and
high unemployment mean we make less goods than the Germans, the French
and the Japanese. So we make less profits than the Germans, the French
and the Japanese. So we invest less in new machinery than the Germans,
the French and the Japanese. So the products we make on our old machinery
cost more than the Germans, the French and the Japanese. So not only do
we export less than the Germans, the French and the Japanese, but we buy
more products from - you've guessed it - the Germans, the French and the
Japanese. So we have less work ,which means a dole queue that would stretch
from London to Inverness, and money that buys less than French money, German
money and Japanese money. Poor Britain. Unless something is done it will
be poorer and poorer Britain.
MALE 'SPORTS COMMENTATOR':
Why don't the Labour managers do something
about it? Ah, well here they come. But they're weighed down by Labour's
philosophy. What are they going to do to help encourage the British lads?
I don't believe it, it's the old favourite, [?] controls. This really is
bringing Britain down with managers like these who needs opponents?
ANONYMOUS MALE:
In the last few years, people in this country have had
to put up with constant government controls. Instead of being allowed to
press ahead at their own pace, the British people have had the Labour government
interfering and holding them back. And because British production under
Labour has been low, British wages under Labour have had to be low. Low
production means low wages. Because Labour can't get production moving
they have had to be more concerned with restricting wages, rather than
increasing them.
MALE 'SPORTS COMMENTATOR':
Brown and Wood are almost collapsing under
the weight of Labour's interference. There doesn't seem to be any incentive
to go any faster even if they could. As soon as one of them gets ahead
he's been pulled back - it's slowing the whole thing down. Oh no, no, Brown
can't take any more, he's falling, he's down, dragging Britain's hopes
with him. The Labour party's turned the British [?] race into an obstacle
course. No, no, now what's happening here? The crowd, the crowd - they're
calling for a change of management. But no, they're not going, they're
hanging on, oh surely they've got to go. But who is going to take over?
ANONYMOUS MALE:
The real question at the next election is which part
will the British choose to help get Britain moving, and production growing?
Well, if they base their decision on the record, they'll choose the Conservatives.
Fact. Since the war with Conservative governments production has increased
by twice as much as under Labour.
MALE 'SPORTS COMMENTATOR':
The Labour managers have [?] been sent in
for an early bath. It's the Conservative managers coming on, they're heading
straight for Brown and Wood, and yes they are taking off the weight of
taxation.
ANONYMOUS MALE:
Which party will the British people choose to cut their
income tax? Well, if they base their decision on the record, they'll choose
the Conservatives. Fact. In the last thirty years, every Labour government
has increased income tax. Every Conservative government has cut income
tax.
MALE 'SPORTS COMMENTATOR':
Our boys are now back on their feet and really
making up for lost time. Now they're taking off another weight, they're
giving them some incentive. This is most encouraging.
ANONYMOUS MALE:
Which party will the British people choose to give us
back our incentive to work and increase real take home pay? Well, if they
base their decision on the record, they'll choose the Conservatives. Fact.
Since the war, with the Conservatives, the average industrial worker's
real take-home pay, has gone up nearly four and a half times more than
under Labour.
ANOTHER (TORY?) MAN:
If you want to earn more, Labour don't seem to
want you to. So they tax you, so it isn't worth your while. Labour will
never give you the incentives. But we will.
MALE 'SPORTS COMMENTATOR':
Brown and Wood are really producing the results
now. They're coming up fast and the chances are getting better. Without
the dead weight of Labour government interference they can start to [?]
ANONYMOUS MALE:
Which party will the British people choose to tackle
the unemployment problem? Well, if they base their decision on the record,
it'll be the Conservatives. Fact. Twice since the war, nearly a million
new jobs have been created with the Conservatives - something that has
never happened during a Labour period of government.
MALE 'SPORTS COMMENTATOR':
Great Britain is now really back in the picture,
they're doing better all the time. And look now they're throwing off another
Labour burden, nothing can stop them now.
ANONYMOUS MALE:
Which party will the British people choose to help solve
the inflation problem? Well, if they base their decision on the record,
it'll be the Conservatives. Fact. Since the war there has been twice as
much inflation under Labour.
MALE 'SPORTS COMMENTATOR':
This really is a joy to watch. We're making
up for the last five years. These boys are really motoring. I must say,
it brings a lump to your [mouth?]
ANONYMOUS MALE:
The Conservatives always encourage success, ambition
and reward. We've done it before; we'll do it again. How? It's not the
impossible dream that it seems under Labour. We will give people back their
ambitions and drive; make it possible for people to earn more so that they
can buy more; so we can produce more; so we can make more profit; so we
can invest in more machinery; so our goods cost less; so we export more;
so we have more work; so we can buy more. The Conservatives believe that
by freeing the people of too much taxation and too much government interference
we will encourage everyone to make a better life for themselves and their
families. And that means a better country.
MALE 'SPORTS COMMENTATOR':
Nothing can stop them now. This must be a
British record. We're really giving the foreigners s run for their money.
Oh what a difference this new government is making.
MARGARET THATCHER:
We've always had a sense of humour, and heaven knows
we've needed it lately. But we've other characteristics too. A gift for
invention, for initiative and for hard work. Under Labour, these talents
are going to waste, because the government takes too much away in tax.
How often do you hear people say 'Look how much they've taken from my pay
packet'? So naturally we ask for bigger pay rises to make up the difference.
And it's not long before that pushes up prices. Ask any housewife - she'll
tell you. This government has increased prices more and faster than any
other government since records were kept. The only way to keep prices down
is to get production up, and you don't do that by weighing people down
with taxes and other restrictions. They don't work for the Chancellor of
the Exchequer, they work for their families. So we've got to cut the tax
on earning and the tax on skill. Give our people incentives, and once again
Britain will be back in the race.
ANONYMOUS MAN:
Don't just hope for a better life; vote for one.
25th April 1979
MAN 1:
Will the Conservatives bring unemployment down? Will they manage
to halt the rip-roaring increase in prices? Will they provide the incentives
which we all know are necessary to get things moving? Well, we think they
will. Obviously Labour thinks they won't. Who's right? Tonight, you've
got a chance to decide. I warn you there's not much light relief in this
broadcast, but it may help you to make up your mind.
MAN 2:
You are probably bored with all the political experts giving
one opinion after another, and all the pundits giving their theories on
the nation's future. We thought we'd spare you that for the next few minutes,
so here instead in ten minutes you'll get nothing but facts. Not opinions,
not view points, but facts. Official government records. First of all,
I think we'd all accept that it is the natural and proper desire for everyone
to want to do better this year than he did last. This is what causes progress.
Nowadays this desire to get on means people want to increase their wages,
every year if possible. Wages, as I'm sure we all know, are dependent on
production.
MAN 3:
Production. Fact: since Labour came to power five years ago,
Britain's total production has increased only half as much as the rest
of the world. Fact: Britain is manufacturing less today than five years
ago.
MAN 2:
So, if our production has been low under Labour, what has inevitably
happened to our wages?
MAN 3:
Wages. Fact: in the last five years the average German worker
has seen his wages go up by ninety-two per cent. The French worker's has
gone up by sixty per cent. But the British worker's wages have only gone
up by sixteen per cent. Fact: Britain now has the lowest hourly wages of
any country in the common market, except Ireland.
MAN 2:
But in spite of the fact that our production has gone down, and
we produce less wealth, people still want to do better - they always do.
So what happens? If no more wealth is being produced the only way one man
or group of men can do better is at the expense of another. The result
is strikes and chaos, and even less wealth to share out. The strongest
and the loudest voices seem to win. Soon everyone gets the hang of this;
everyone shouts louder - result? Inflation.
MAN 3:
Inflation. Fact: since Labour came to power Britain has had the
worst peace time inflation since the Great Plague, over three hundred years
ago. Fact: Since Labour came to power Britain has suffered one of the worst
inflation rates of any major industrial country. Fact: the pound buys less
than half of what it did five years ago. Fact: Since Labour came to power
the price of food has more than doubled.
MAN 2:
And what's the effect of all that inflation? Even more stagnation,
and worse still, unemployment. Everyone trying to take more from each other
eventually throws people out of work.
MAN 3:
Unemployment. Fact: since Labour came to power, twice as many
people have become unemployed. Fact: since Labour came to power, one more
person has become unemployed every three minutes thirty five seconds. Fact:
for every school leaver unemployed when Labour came to power there are
nine today. Fact: every single Labour government has left more people unemployed
when it left office.
MAN 2:
And with unemployment at those levels, the tax burden on those
who are working inevitably got bigger. And it's not just the rich people
who have to pay.
MAN 3:
Tax. Fact: since Labour came to power, the average British family
now pays over twice as much tax. Fact: no major industrial country extracts
a higher rate of tax from both people with high and low incomes.
MAN 2:
This burden costs so much that there isn't enough to spend on
things we all agree we need, like hospitals and schools.
MAN 3:
Hospitals and schools. Fact: since Labour came to power, capital
spending on schools has fallen by more than half. Fact: since Labour came
to power, capital spending on hospitals has actually decreased.
MAN 2:
A disastrous performance by any standards. But the big question
is this: can the Conservatives do any better? It's all very well to point
out how badly Labour have done, but how can the Conservatives prove they
would do any better? After all, they've been in opposition for the last
five years. Well, there's one way to prove it - by looking at the official
record of the two parties since the war. Since 1945 the Conservatives and
Labour have had about the same length of time in power. Both have had the
same chance to fulfil, or break, their promises. What does the record say
- and remember, these figures are the official government records? First,
as we said earlier, the key is production.
MAN 3:
Production. Fact: since the war, industrial production has gone
up twice as much with the Conservatives.
MAN 2:
Now if low production under Labour has meant low wages, what
has the higher Conservative production done for wages?
MAN 3:
Wages. Fact: during Conservative periods of government, the average
industrial worker's real take home pay has gone up by four and a half times
more.
MAN 2:
When production is growing, people can satisfy their natural
desire to do better and increase their wages, without inflationary wage
demands. We can afford to pay ourselves more, without the chronic inflation
we've had over the last few years.
MAN 3:
Inflation. Fact: since the war, there has been half as much inflation
with the Conservatives.
MAN 2:
Half as much inflation, twice as much production, and higher
wages with the Conservatives, has meant we could buy more and produce more.
So there was more work, more jobs.
MAN 3:
Unemployment. Fact: twice since the war, nearly a million new
jobs have been created with the Conservatives, something that has never
happened under a Labour period of government.
MAN 2:
When production goes up, there's less need for the tax payer
to have to spend money propping up industry. So we don't have to pay so
much tax.
MAN 3:
Tax. Fact: unlike Labour, every single Conservative government
has cut income tax.
MAN 2:
Higher production has also meant that there was more money to
pay for the things we all need.
MAN 3:
Hospitals and schools. Fact: spending on the National Health
Service has risen, in real terms, faster with the Conservatives. Fact:
since the war, nine hundred thousand new school places have been introduced
by the Conservatives.
MAN 2:
These are the facts. Not opinions, but official government statistics
on Britain's performance over the last few years. It proves that whatever
else this election is about - prices, inflation, unions, education - the
key is production.
MAN 1:
Somebody once said, 'Why gaze in the crystal ball if you can
read the book'. The truth is that more goods are produced under the Conservatives.
It's as simple as that. And of course more goods are produced the cash
is there to make a practical reality of caring. There are real benefits
to be found for the sick and the under privileged, for the young and the
old alike. And there are higher wages, and they're matched by lower taxes
and real ongoing jobs. So think hard before you vote this time, and make
your judgement on the record. Don't just hope for a better life - vote
for one.
We're coming to the moment of decision. As the tumult
and the shouting of the last few weeks die away, and you sit at home wondering
what to do on Thursday, I can well imagine you saying to yourselves, 'If
only the politicians would be quiet, if only we could sit peacefully for
a few minutes and think about our country, and its future, and the decision
you're asking us to make'. I know how you feel. The decision is crucial.
The problems facing Britain are very grave. I can't remember when our people
have approached an election quite as thoughtfully as this one. We've tried
to fight an honourable campaign, to put before you truthfully the choice
this country faces. That choice will decide who governs Britain for the
next five years. It may also decide what sort of country our children and
grandchildren grow up in.
When all the other questions have been argued
and debated in the papers, on radio and on television, there's only one
that really matters in the end, what's best for Britain. Whichever party
we belong to, or even if we belong to no party at all, most of us would
agree that things have not gone well for our country in the last few years.
Oh there's still plenty to be proud of, plenty to admire and to cherish,
but a lot of things we used to take for granted seem to be in danger of
disappearing. Money that keeps its value; real jobs that last; paying our
way in the world; feeling safe in our streets - especially if you're a
woman; hospitals that long to give the service that they used to; schools
which gave children from modest backgrounds like my own the chance to get
on in life as far as we were able. So much has been threatened lately,
so much that used to be sure is sure no longer. So when our opponents say
the Conservatives want to change things, I answer 'Yes, we do - and for
the better'. If ever there was a need for change it's now. I don't mean
sudden change, and I'm not talking about trying to bring back some nostalgic
version of the past. I don't want to look back tonight, any more than you'll
be looking back when you vote on Thursday. You'll be thinking of the future
and how it can be better, and which of the parties is more likely to make
it so.
Let me tell you how I see it. I've never believed that this country
is a naturally socialist country. We're an independent people. We don't
take easily to having more and more of our lives decided for us by the
state. We don't take kindly to being pushed around. We're good neighbours,
concerned for the welfare of others. We regard it as a privilege to say
to the old, the sick, the needy and the disabled, 'Don't worry, we'll look
after you'. But we believe that those who are strong and healthy and active
should be encouraged to get on and make a success of things for themselves.
Many of our troubles stem from the fact that in recent years we haven't
been true to ourselves, true to our tradition of independence - largely
because we've been encouraged not to be. It hasn't paid to work harder,
or try to do better for the family. Sometimes, it hasn't paid to work at
all. That's had its effect, right through the country. So instead of sharing
out the proceeds of success, we've taken to fighting over how much we can
afford from failure. Now none of us is so naive as to believe that cutting
taxes will by itself suddenly transform everything and make our country
prosperous over night. But what we do believe it's that it's all the difference
in the world between creating a society in which it pays to work and creating
one which it doesn't. Only by becoming prosperous again can Britain become
a genuinely caring society, which is why we think our way, not our opponents',
is truly the better way. I think that most of you who know their record
know that too.
There's a long tradition in this country that everyone is
equal under the law. Indeed a lot of our history has been about seeing
that those who acquire great power are not allowed to abuse it. Trade unions
today have a lot of rights but not enough duties. I don't think that many
people can take an honest look at our industrial relations and say that
we can go on year after year tearing ourselves apart. I'm sorry that our
support for the limited but essential union reforms was turned down by
the government last winter, se we shall have to carry them through ourselves.
Our proposals are modest and strongly supported by the nation, including
the vast majority of trade union members. I've no doubt whatever that no
matter what they say during an election, the unions will accept the democratic
will of the people, especially when the moderate majority make their voice
heard, as I hope they will on Thursday.
We want to create a society which
is open and free, but to protect that freedom in a more and more dangerous
world we've got to keep up our guard. Surely if the 1930s taught us anything,
they taught us that. The right response to increasing Soviet strength is
not increasing British weakness. We shall make sure that Britain's defences
are up to strength and that the first duty of any government - the defence
of the realm - is ensured. Now no one in my position, asking for your support,
your understanding, could be unaware of the responsibility that I'm asking
you to give me at this moment of decision for our country. To that I should
perhaps add the fact - and if I don't a lot of others will - that this
is the first time in our history that a woman could, after Thursday, be
holding the highest political office in our national life. It's never happened
before, and I know that despite all the changes in our society, there are
some who still feel a little bit uncertain about it. I also know there
are others who would welcome it. I've always believed that what matters
in politics, as in the rest of life, isn't who you are, or where you come
from, but what you believe and what you want to do with your life. What
matters are your convictions.
So as we approach the end of this campaign,
I want to tell you the thoughts and feelings that will guide me in government
if you place your confidence in the Conservative party on Thursday. Let
me give you my vision. Somewhere ahead lies greatness for our country again.
This I know in my heart. Look at Britain today and you may think that an
impossible dream. But there's another Britain, which may not make the daily
news, but which each one of us knows. It's a Britain of thoughtful people
- oh tantalisingly slow to act, yet marvellously determined when they do.
It's their voice which steadies each generation, not by oratory or argument,
but by a word here or there, a sudden flash of truth which makes men pause
and think and say. 'That makes sense to me'. That's how the foundations
of fairness have been built up in this country - brick by brick, layer
upon layer. In that way the law has grown, bringing to each age what seems
reasonable and wise and true. Today, if you listen, you can hear that voice
again. It calls not for upheaval or conflict or division. It calls for
balance, for a land where all may grow, but none may grow oppressive. Its
message is quiet, but insistent. It says this: 'Let us make this a country
safe to work in, let us make this a country safe to walk in, let us make
it a country safe to grow up in, let us make it a country safe to grow
old in'. And it says above all: 'May this land of ours, which we love so
much, find dignity and greatness and peace again'.
