Mrs Thatcher survives

Press, 29 January 1986, Page 16

Mrs Thatcher survives

Just when it all looked as if Mrs Thatcher, the British Prime Minister, was on a slippery slope and that her political career might soon come to an end, she has made a remarkable recovery. The Westland affair, the rescue of Britain’s only helicopter firm, claimed two of her Ministers. One, Mr Michael Heseltine, resigned as Defence Secretary bacause he disagreed with the approach Mrs Thatcher had taken on whether an American group or a European group should rescue Westland. The other, Mr Leon Brittan, the Secretary of Trade, resigned when he believed that he no longer had the trust of his colleagues because of the leaking of a letter. The affair touched Mrs Thatcher. Commentators were comparing the incidents over Westland to the Watergate affair which brought about Mr Richard Nixon’s downfall as President of the United States. Mrs Thatcher was merely touched, not destroyed, by the Westland affair.

Mrs Thatcher could be excused by the Conservative Party for bungling the disclosure of the letter. She acknowledged that the leaking of the letter had been mishandled. Her Conservative Party colleagues would not have excused her if she had misled Parliament, or made a fool of Parliamentary procedures by instituting an inquiry into the leaking of the letter when she already knew the answer. On that point she has won the day. Her colleagues believe her when she says that it was all a misunderstanding between departments. She said that she did not know about the leaking or who authorised it until it was all done and the inquiry had started. There may be a few unanswered questions and Mrs Thatcher could have handled it all ever so much better. But she can be forgiven all that. She had not misled the House and that is what

mattered to her colleagues. The end came amid high political drama. The Leader of the Opposition, Mr Neil Kinnock, asked the most pertinent questions about the affair in the emergency debate. He might have been having an off-day as a speaker because, even though the material was tailored for interest, he failed to command the attention of the House of Commons.

Mrs Thatcher was in much better speaking form and, as she persuaded her colleagues, they displayed their support by waving their agenda papers — a splendidly traditional gesture. The startling conclusion to the Commons debate was that Mr Heseltine came out in support of Mrs Thatcher. The Tories were not split after all. The Opposition was left with little to do but mutter darkly that there were still questions that needed to be answered.

Will the support Mrs Thatcher gained over the Westland affair be sufficient to carry her into another election? Britain does not need to have another election until 1988 and there is plenty of time for other crises before then. After her recent experience, Mrs Thatcher has been reminded that an hour, let alone a week, is a long time in politics.

It seems inconceivable that the manner Mrs Thatcher has adopted, and the manner with which her Cabinet has found it so hard to live, will not land her in trouble again before 1988. Nor does it seem likely that Mr Heseltine’s ambition to lead the party will be contained until 1988 and beyond. When the Conservative Party needed him to prevent a split he was there and supported Mrs Thatcher. Loyalty to a leader at a crucial time is remembered among Conservatives and Mr Heseltine will no doubt need to have such memories about him one day.