Baroness Thatcher's Legacy

Debate between David Amess and Gerald Howarth

Tuesday 3rd September 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr David Amess (Southend West) (Con)]

With your permission, Mr Speaker, I have agreed with the Minister to take a number of interventions on the basis that all the interventions are of a pleasant nature.

Margaret Hilda Thatcher, born on 13 October 1925, died Baroness Thatcher of Kesteven on 8 April 2013, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 until 1990, Member of Parliament for Finchley from 1959 until 1992. I was in America visiting my oldest daughter, an aspiring actress, who lives in Hollywood when she knocked on my bedroom door and broke the news that Margaret Thatcher had died. As she is an actress, I did not initially believe what she had said. I could not get back in time for the very moving occasion when the House paid its own tributes, so I am unashamedly using this occasion to pay my tribute to Margaret Thatcher.

I would like to refer Members to a speech I gave from this very place—from where I also made my maiden speech—on 7 December 1990. [Interruption.] As my good friend, the Lord Commissioner of Her Majesty’s Treasury, my hon. Friend the Member for Bexleyheath and Crayford (Mr Evennett), says from a sedentary position, he was there when I made it. It was on a Friday, and I can do no better than quote the motion I initiated:

“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.”—[Official Report, 7 December 1990; Vol. 182, c. 564.]

Of course, 20 years ago I was a little upset about the way in which Margaret was removed from office. I have calmed down now and am in a position to reflect on her life and the service she gave to her country.

Only today, I was contacted by a councillor in Grantham, Councillor Davies; apparently—this is independent of the council—a statue to Margaret is definitely going to be erected there. I support that campaign and I hope that other hon. Members will do likewise in Grantham. I visited Grantham earlier this year, having never been before, and visited Margaret’s birthplace, which is now a health spa. The place is very humble; it certainly was a humble little shop that she used to run, but obviously Grantham has changed and the place is right opposite an Asda. If Margaret had been born in my constituency, we would be celebrating the fact that we had that great citizen as one of our local residents.

I can think of no other British politician whose legacy is as lasting or far-reaching as Margaret’s. There can be no doubt that her philosophy has influenced every aspect of our lives today. I have been a member of the Conservative party for 45 years and I would never have joined it all those years ago were it not for Margaret. I was a resident in the London borough of Newham, which contains the constituency that produced the first ever Labour Member of Parliament, Keir Hardie. I was sick to death of people reminiscing about how the good old days were and how to get out of poverty. I wanted someone to inspire me with a philosophy that would get me out of poverty if I followed it, and for me that person was Margaret Thatcher.

I missed our earlier debate here, but I did attend the ceremonial funeral. I thought that Margaret’s funeral was an absolute tribute to those who organised it and to this country. It was a privilege for me, and for so many of my colleagues who did not really know Margaret—they were not in the House when she was an MP—but were inspired in every way by the person she was.

When Margaret became the leader in 1979, Britain was, as we all know, the sick man of Europe—we were the Greece of our times, seeking aid from the International Monetary Fund. The rot was really setting in. Interest rates were staggeringly high, at nearly 14%, the impact of which we appreciate if we recall what they are today. Inflation was in double digits and the top rate of tax was 83%. The power was in the hands of the unions, which gave us the winter of discontent. The three-day week was fresh in the memory of many, the dead could not be buried and rubbish was not being collected. I was there, living during those times; I have not read it in a book—I experienced it. Evidently, all was not well and something had to change.

Baroness Thatcher did not, however, as many have claimed, break the post-war consensus; the post-war consensus had destroyed itself. It was the job of the then Mrs Thatcher to build a new Britain from the ashes. In the words of Lord Healey, of all people,

“the time had come for a shift from government to the market, as far as economic policy was concerned, and ending the rule of the trade unions in deciding policy.”

As I have said, I was privileged enough to have been elected, together with my hon. Friends the Members for Aldershot (Sir Gerald Howarth) and for Bexleyheath and Crayford (Mr Evennett), in 1983. Indeed, it was from this very spot that I made my maiden speech on the community charge. I believe that people called it the “poll tax” then, but I never referred to it as such.

The House was absolutely packed and my speech followed that of Sir Ted Heath. Matthew Parris was on the Bench behind me and in your place, Mr Speaker, was the late Jack Weatherill. It was a fantastic occasion and I flatter myself that Margaret, as she sat on the Front Bench where my right hon. Friend the Member for Rayleigh and Wickford (Mr Francois) is sitting now, listened to my support for the policy.

Margaret Thatcher was absolutely inspirational. This is not a criticism, Mr Speaker, so please do not take offence, but I was thinking about the debate last week. In those days, the Chamber was full of giants. There were many experts and I was in awe of everyone, but 30 years on I am not in awe of anyone. I feel that this is now a Chamber of amateurs. I do not mean that in a nasty sense, but in a sense of the way we are now. One has to look to the other place for the real experts. We are all sent here, however articulate we are or not, as equals. As my voice was not heard last Thursday, I am very glad that my voice is being heard this evening in praise of Margaret Thatcher and her great legacy.

Margaret Thatcher understood that people had the opportunity to be upwardly mobile. The right to buy gave to millions. In my then constituency of Basildon, we had 30,000 houses in public ownership and it gave many people the chance to own their property for the first time. Share ownership trebled during Margaret’s decade. Historically, long-term financial gains are made in housing and equity investment, unlike cash savings, which are often gobbled up by inflation. As people were interested in business and the economy as newly empowered shareowners and mortgage bearers, strikes were naturally much less appealing and the power of the unions was broken.

Britain became a place to aspire to be and we were back in business. I remember that my right hon. Friend the Member for Rayleigh and Wickford was then a local councillor in Basildon. People began to work together to build growth and it is no coincidence that in the ’80s many successful start-ups were born, including Waterstones, Dairy Crest, Bloomsbury, Sky and Virgin Atlantic. I recall that my hon. Friends the Members for Aldershot and for Bexleyheath and Crayford and I received an invitation from the chairman of British Airways. Lord King grasped the great opportunity he was offered; he was another inspirational leader.

Of course, there is also the fundamental legacy of privatisation and economic policy. That policy was never reversed by successive Governments and has been copied all over the world. As late as 1977, the UK Government were still nationalising industry—aerospace and ship building—and Baroness Thatcher had to reverse the trend to resuscitate our country, which was then known as the sick man of Europe. More than 50 companies were put back into the hands of the people, including huge companies such as British Gas, British Telecom and British Airways. Not only was £50 billion raised for the Treasury, but competition was birthed and private shareholding grew. The consumer benefited, with gas prices falling by 25% in 1995 and telecom charges falling by 40%. The basic rate of tax fell from 33% in 1979 to 23% by the time Margaret left office. A strong pro-aspiration message was heard. Incredibly, 29 million working days were lost to strikes in 1979, whereas that figure was down to 2 million in 1990—an absolutely staggering decline.

[Sir Gerald Howarth (Aldershot) (Con)]

My hon. Friend is paying a wonderful tribute to the salvation of the nation. Does he agree that the figures he has just given for the reduction in the number of strikes from 29 million days lost to 2 million days are evidence that far from being divisive, that magnificent woman was responsible for restoring to the members of trade unions power that had been seized by their leaders to use for political purposes?

[Mr Amess]

I absolutely agree with my hon. Friend. I paid tribute to him when he was appointed as Margaret’s Parliamentary Private Secretary. If only he had been her Parliamentary Private Secretary a little earlier, she would never have lost by four votes, but that is probably rewriting history. I absolutely agree about how Margaret’s legacy has been completely misrepresented.

Contrary to left-wing opinion, Britain’s manufacturing production rose by 7.5% during Baroness Thatcher’s time as Prime Minister. In short, because of policies such as the right to buy, share ownership, privatisation, tax cuts and fewer days lost to strikes, Baroness Thatcher was able to bring Britain back from the brink and build a stronger economy.