THE PRESS TUESDAY, OCTOBER 20, 1981. Disquiet about Mrs Thatcher

Press, 20 October 1981, Page 20

THE PRESS TUESDAY, OCTOBER 20, 1981. Disquiet about Mrs Thatcher

The view that Conservatives usually fight their battles in private and that Labour parties fight their battles in public got something of a drubbing when the British Conservative Party met at Blackpool for its annual conference. Attacks on the management of the party and on the party’s economic policies came from the floor of the conference; on television and in the newspapers Conservative members of Parliament were critical of the policies. Mrs Margaret Thatcher, the British Prime Minister, had her economic policies overwhelmingly endorsed by the party; but this show of solidarity has not eased the disquiet in the party’s ranks. The test of whether Mrs Thatcher’s policies will continue to be accepted, and even whether Mrs Thatcher will- herself continue to be accepted as leader of the party, will come when the reformed Cabinet meets again. Although Mrs Thatcher undoubtedly won the day at Blackpool,, the battle is far from over.

Mr Edward Heath, the former British Prime Minister, was the most outspoken among a number of outspoken critics of Mrs Thatcher. He is in a curious position because he is not bidding for the leadership of the party himself. His words are directed at the public and find most of their response there. While he is regarded as having considerable public status, he carries comparatively little weight in the party itself, having never been quite forgiven for declining to serve under Mrs Thatcher. In attacking the economic policies of Mrs Thatcher, Mr Heath is not seeking to gain direct political benefit for himself. This gives the attack a curiously detached quality. Conservatives are less than detached about the implications of what is being said: they fear that unless the policies pursued by Mrs Thatcher either work demonstrably, or are changed, the Conservatives will lose the next election.

They have reason to be worried about the way . the Conservative Government is being viewed. Inflation, interest rates, and unemployment have all risen. No country can view with equanimity an unemployment rate running at 12 per cent. In Britain, this means that about three million people are out of work. Unless there is some improvement before Britain has its next General Election, due in two years, there can be little doubt that the

Conservative Party would be devastated. Some recent economic indicators show that productivity is increasing, but it is not of such stuff that election victories are made. Conservatives are not just hoping that Mrs Thatcher would have some election goodies for the voters; many believe that she will be shown to have done almost nothing at all to alleviate some of the genuine distress in the country.

Some of the best-known and most able politicians in the Conservative Party are opposed to the so-called monetarist policies being pursued by Mrs Thatcher. She has set her sights on reducing inflation, on making British industry more competitive, and on keeping a tight hand on the supply of money. She has stuck to this policy rigidly even though there have been some drastic bankruptcies and staff lay-offs to add to the great pool of unemployed already in the community. Her rigidity has earned her a reputation that verges on fanaticism. Yet the Conservatives have continued unemployment benefits, and they have rescued some troubled firms. Mrs Thatcher, however, must find some of these actions ideologically distasteful because she disdains to mention them.

The result is that she seems to govern without compassion. It seems that she would prefer to be seen as correct doctrinally rather than be seen as a compromising or pragmatic leader. She can, on the other hand, point to a succession of • governments whose compromises, or set-backs under pressure, left Britain’s economy weaker than before and in poorer shape to compete with the rest of the world, let alone sustain a welfare system that would strain even a healthy economy.

The trouble with an unrelenting treatment to remove fat and wrinkles is that the patient suffers. Even if the Thatcher prescription succeeds, Mrs Thatcher herself may be cast aside. Her immediate problem is that the indicators of success are not showing. The doubts within the Conservative Party must concern not only her economic policies but the way that she cares to present them. At the party conference it was to be expected that Mrs Thatcher would not be seen to waver. She may be in deeper trouble if she does not waver when the Cabinet meets.