The Downing Street Years

by Margaret Thatcher

  teacher training, 597–8, see also education

  Tebbit, Margaret, 383, 422, 587, 755, 835

  Tebbit, Norman (Employment Secretary 1981–83, Trade and Industry Secretary 1983–85, Party Chairman 1985–87): junior minister, 29; BL, 120, 437, 440; Industry, 131; Employment, 151, 152; trade union reform, 272–4; Family Policy Group, 279; manifesto (1983), 283; election campaign (1983), 288, 293; DTI, 312; miners’ strike (1984–5), 346; dock strike (1984), 361; Party Conference (1984), 379; Brighton bomb (1984), 381, 383; abilities, 418; Conservative Party Chairman, 421–2; Westland, 425–6, 428; press criticism, 564; Strategy Group, 565; Bournemouth Party Conference, 567; election Tebbit, Norman–cont. campaign (1987), 569–70, 572, 574–5, 581, 584, 585, 587; opinion of Alliance, 573–4; departure plans, 587; leaves Cabinet, 589; quoted, 670; suitability as successor to MT, 755; views on single currency, 833; refuses Cabinet position, 835; leadership election campaign (1990), 840, 846, 847, 849–50, 855; MT’s resignation, 856

  technology: impact on employment, 257; information (IT), 271

  Telecommunications Bill, 290

  television, handling, 286–7; see also BBC, broadcasting, Channel 4, ITV

  Territorial Army, 250

  Thailand, MT’s visit (1985), 506

  Thatcher, Carol, 24, 37, 71, 285, 414, 841

  Thatcher, Denis: Commons confidence debate (1979), 3, 4; election victory (1979), 17, 18–19; Downing Street, 21; character sketch, 22–3; birthday (1979), 34; Chequers lunch (1979), 37; oil industry expertise, 65; US visit (1981), 160; Parkinson plaque, 311; Brighton bomb (1984), 380, 381; Harrods bomb (1983), 397; Gorbachev visit (1984), 461; Edinburgh Commonwealth Games visit, 520–1; African visits, 524–6, 528; election campaign (1987), 583, 588; golf with Bush, 810; Lord’s Taverners, 835; leadership election campaign (1990), 841, 845, 846; MT’s resignation, 856, 858, 860–2

  Thatcher, Mark, 37, 700, 841, 861

  Thatcherism, 13, 561, 572, 579, 599, 618–24; ‘Social Thatcherism’, 147

  Think-Tank, see Central Policy Review Staff Thomas, George, 34

  Thomas, Harvey, 285–6, 468, 580

  Thomas, Vera, 36

  Thompson, Brigadier Julian, 189

  Thorn, Gaston (Luxemburg Prime Minister 1974–79, President European Commission 1981–85), 538, 542

  Thorneycroft, Peter, Lord (Party Chairman 1979–81), 37, 104, 149–50, 152

  Thyssen Collection, 633–4

  Tiananmen Square massacre (1989), 494

  Tickell, Sir Crispin, 170, 640

  Tilney, Sir John and Lady, 37

  Time, 159

  Times, The, 82, 105, 138, 152, 186, 277, 282, 311, 778, 841

  Tito, Marshal, 88, 161

  Tocqueville, Alexis de, 485

  Today programme, 586

  Top Salary Review Board (TSRB), 417

  top-slicing, see health Total Exclusion Zone (TEZ), 209, 212

  Townend, John, 855

  Toxteth riots (1981), 144, 145–6

  Trade Disputes Act (1906), 102

  Trade Union and Labour Relations Act (1974), 273

  trade unions: legislation, 8, 97–108, 272–3, 279, 669; Prior’s relationship, 28; reform programme, 39, 40, 97–108, 150, 272–6, 284, 306, 572, 669; political levy, 274, 275–6; hard Left, 306, 339

  Trades Union Congress (TUC): Heath government proposals, 7; trade union reform attitude, 99–100; political levy question, 276; miners’ strike (1984–5), 363, 372–3, 375–6; Delors address, 742

  Trafford, Tony, 383

  training: importance, 5; MSC, 31; teacher, 597–8; vouchers, 670, 831

  Training and Enterprise Councils (TECs), 670

  Transport and General Workers Union (TGWU), 108–9, 355–7, 361–2

  transport (urban) policy group, 282

  Trident, 244–8, 267, 471, 472–3

  Trollope, Anthony, 37

  Trudeau, Pierre (Canadian Prime Minister 1968–79, 1980–84), 164, 169, 170, 300, 320–2, 453

  Truman Doctrine, 481

  Tsukuba Science City, 497

  Turkey, Gulf crisis, 819, 823

  Turnbull, Andrew (Principal Private Secretary to the Prime Minister 1988–92), 717, 856

  Ukraine: status, 801–2; MT’s visit (1990), 806–7

  Ulster, use of term, 385, see also Northern Ireland

  Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR), 57, 401

  underclass, 627, 661

  unemployment: (1950s), 7; (1979), 52; cost, 123; (1981), 148, 153; (1982), 272; policy group, 282; election campaign (1983), 292; (1983), 315; (1986), 567; election campaign (1987), 583; Scottish, 618; (1987), 618–19; council estate culture, 671; (1988), 706

  Union of Democratic Miners (UDM), 686

  Unipart, 438, 439, 440

  United Arab Emirates (UAE), 163

  United Nations (UN): Iran hostages, 87; self-determination principle, 174, 195; Falklands issue, 182–3, 211, 216, 821; Security Council Resolution 502, 182, 193, 203, 209, 210, 213, 226; Security Council Resolution 505, 225–6; Falklands cease-fire Resolution veto, 231–2; disarmament session, 236, 267; Grenada, 329; Security Council Resolution 242, 509; Namibia, 528; Gulf crisis, 818, 821, 827–8; Security Council Resolution 661, 821; Security Council Resolution 665, 823; UN Children’s Summit, 826

  United States of America: economy, 7, 322, 693, 739, 782; Suez, 8, 437; Vietnam, 9; Irish-Americans, 58, 166, 384, 415; Iran hostages, 69, 86–8, 156, 825; MT’s visit (1979), 86–7; MT’s visit (1981), 158–60; interest rates, 165, 693; Argentina relations, 176–7, 179–80, 188, 323; Falklands crisis, 180, 187–8, 212; Falklands war, 226, 227, 229; NATO, 237–42, 810–12; Trident, 244–8, 267; Polish crisis, 253–6; ‘dual key’ question, 268, 332; MT’s visit (1983), 320, 322–5; Soviet arms talks, 323–4, 453, 461, see also SALT; Lebanon MNF, 326–8, 334; Grenada invasion, 328–32, 334–5; Lebanon retaliation, 333–4; Westland affair, 436–7; Libya sanctions, 442; raid on Libya, 443–9, 498, 510; National Security Council, 461; MT’s visit (1984), 466–8; MT’s visit (1985), 468–9; MT’s visit (1986), 472–3; Arab-Israeli dispute, 507–8; South Africa sanctions, 515, 520; European policies, 768, 783–4, 789, 794–5, 798–9; MT’s visit (1987), 770–2; INF treaty (1987), 771, 773, 774, 784; SNF negotiations, 788; MT’s visit (1989), 794; Gulf crisis, 816–28; see also Bush, Reagan

  universities, 598–9, 639, see also education

  Uno, Sousuke (Japanese Prime Minister 1989), 499

  U-turn, 122

  van Agt, Andries (Dutch Prime Minister 1977–82), 81, 241, 242–3

  Van Den Broek, Hans, 319, 736

  Van der Post, Laurens, 186, 521

  Varley-Marshall assurances, 438, 679

  VAT: increase (1979), 42–3; EC discussions, 313, 538, 544, 557, 728; increase (1991), 667

  Vickers, 825

  Victoria Dam Power Station, Sri Lanka, 75, 503, 506

  Victorian values, 627

  Vienna Airport terrorists, 441–2

  Vietnam: War, 9; boat people, 64, 66

  Viljoen, Gerrit, 531

  Villiers, Sir Charles (Chairman BSC 1976–80), no, 112, 113–14

  Volkswagen, 679

  voluntary organizations, 603, 627

  Vulcan bombers, 239

  Waddington, David (Chief Whip 1987–89, Home Secretary 1989-go), 757, 854–5

  Wakeham, Alison (née Ward), 25, 285

  Wakeham, John (Chief Whip 1982–87, Leader HC 1987–89, Energy Secretary 1989–90): junior minister, 29; Chief Whip, 310–11; Brighton bomb (1984), 382, 383; Cabinet reshuffle (1985), 418, 419; Westland, 430; Strategy Group, 565; election campaign (1987), 583; electricity privatization, 683; nuclear power policy, 685; coal industry, 686; Gulf crisis, 822; Howe’s resignation (1990), 835; leadership election campaign (1990), 841, 846, 847, 850, 851, 853–5; MT’s resignation, 856

  Wakeham, Roberta, 381

  Waldegrave, William (Health Secretary 1990–92): community charge, 563, 646, 647, 649; Gulf crisis, 822; Health, 835; MT leadership question, 853

  Waiden, Brian,
54, 105, 125, 293, 832

  Waldheim, Kurt (UN Secretary General 1972–81, Austrian President 1986–92), 160

  Wales, housing policy, 602

  Walesa, Lech (Chairman Solidarity 1980–90, then President of Poland 1990-), 778, 780–1

  Walker, Peter (Agriculture Secretary 1979–83, Energy Secretary 1983–87, Welsh Secretary 1987–90): Agriculture Minister, 28, 341; Energy, 341–2; miners’ strike (1984–5), 345, 346–7, 353–4, 357–8, 362, 364, 366, 370, 372–3, 376; Party Conference (1984), 368; Cabinet position, 418; BL, 440; housing schemes, 602–3; gas privatization, 681; electricity privatization, 683, 684

  Wall Street Journal, 449

  Walpole, Sir Robert, 24

  Walters, Sir Alan: monetary policy, 97n, 126, 133–6, 696, 707, 713–14; advice to Lawson, 317; Hong Kong currency crisis, 489–90; nuclear power stations advice, 685; ERM question, 692, 693, 694, 695, 700, 709, 722; Lawson’s attitude, 715–17, 718; currency proposals, 725

  Walters, General Vernon, 192, 445–6

  Warry, Peter, 438n

  Warsaw Pact, 237–8, 252, 454, 472, 800, 809, 810

  Wass, Sir Douglas (Permanent Secretary Treasury 1974–83, Joint Head of Home Civil Service 1981–83), 136

  water: pollution, 638–9; privatization, 682

  Weekend World, 54, 105, 131, 293

  Weinberger, Caspar (US Defence Secretary 1981–87), 188, 226, 227, 247–8, 449, 473

  welfare benefits, effects, 8

  Wellington, 1st Duke, 24

  Welsh Nationalists, 289

  Welt, Die, 84

  Western European Union (WEU), 745, 809

  Westland affair, 419, 423–37, 440, 560, 564

  West Siberian Gas Pipeline, 253–6

  wets, 50–1, 52, 54, 104, 123–4, 126, 128, 129, 149, 153–5; definition of term, 51n

  Whitehall, 6, 619

  Whitelaw, William (Home Secretary 1979–83, Leader HL 1983–88): relationship with MT 4, 25, 27; Home Secretary, 27; QL, 33; Iranian embassy siege, 89–90; trade union reform, 107; coal dispute, 143; urban riots, 143–5; public spending debate, 149; Cabinet reshuffle, 151; Falklands, 185, 207; War Cabinet, 188, 214; Family Policy Group, 279; election campaign (1983), 288; Leader of Lords, 307; Parkinson affair, 311; Grenada, 330; miners’ strike (1984–5), 346, 376; MT holiday communications, 362; Brighton bomb (1984), 381; Cabinet reshuffle (1985), 418, 419; Westland, 428; BL, 440; Gorbachev visit, 460; Strategy Group, 565; election campaign (1987), 572; opposition to Forsyth, 623; BBC policy, 636; illness and resignation, 757; leadership election campaign (1990), 848

  Whitmore, Clive, 48, 192, 205

  Whittingdale, John, 285, 586, 792, 841, 843

  Wicks, Sir Nigel (Prime Minister’s Principal Private Secretary 1985–88, Second Permanent Secretary, Treasury 1989-), 433, 525

  Wilkie, David, 371

  Williams, Shirley, 153, 298

  Williamson, David, 729

  Willis, Norman, 372, 376

  Wilson, Gordon, 406

  Wilson, Harold (Labour Prime Minister 1964–70, 1974–76), 8, 13n, 30n, 162

  Wilson, Marie, 406

  Wimpey, 457

  Windsor, Roger, 36g Winston Churchill Foundation speech, 325

  Winston Churchill Memorial Lecture, 79

  winter of discontent, 4, 8, 19

  Woerner, Manfred, 810

  Wolfson, David: Downing St arrival, 24; Chequers lunch, 37; civil service dinner, 48; PSBR discussions, 135; Cabinet reshuffle (September 1981), 152; election campaign (1983), 288, 293; Brighton bomb (1984), 380; election campaign (1987), 584; health policy, 617

  Wolfson Foundation, 633

  Woodhouse School, Finchley, 225

  Woodward, Rear Admiral John ‘Sandy’, 189, 214

  World Bank, 169, 170, 526–7

  World Climate Conference, Geneva (1990), 836

  World War, First, 5

  World War, Second, 5, 11, 461

  Wyatt, Woodrow, Lord, 370

  Yakovlev, Alexander, 460, 772–3

  Yazov, Marshal Dmitri, 805–6

  Yeltsin, Boris (President of Russia 1991-), 773, 803–4

  York, HMS, 816

  York, MT’s visit (1984), 365

  Young, David, Lord (Minister without portfolio 1984–85, Employment Secretary 1985–87, Trade and Industry Secretary 1987–89): Employment, 28, 420–1; DTI, 28, 505; speeches, 567; advice, 569; manifesto (1987), 572–3; election campaign (1987), 583, 584–5; broadcasting policies, 636; BAe Rover deal, 680; leaves Cabinet, 756

  Young, Janet, Lady (Leader HL 1981–83)151–2, 279, 307

  Younger, George (Scottish Secretary 1979–86, Defence Secretary 1986–89): Scottish Secretary, 347, 433, 620; miners’ strike (1984–5), 347; IRA report, 405; Nimrod cancellation, 424; Defence, 433; US bombing of Libya, 443, 445; election campaign (1987), 578; opposition to Forsyth, 623; rate revaluation, 647; departure, 756; leadership election campaign (1989), 830, 837; leadership election campaign (1990), 840, 841

  young people: policy group, 565–6; homelessness, 603, 627; juvenile delinquency, 626–7; teenage pregnancy, 627

  Youth Opportunities Programme, 55n, 128

  Youth Training Scheme, 279

  Zaid bin Sultan al Nahayyan, Sheik, 163

  Zamyatin, Leonid, 460

  Zhao Ziyang, 260–1, 488, 489, 490, 492, 493

  Zhelev, Zhelyu (President of Bulgaria 1990-), 843

  Zia Ul-Haq, Mohammed, 167

  Zimbabwe: independence, 73, 78, 523; MT’s visit (1989), 526–7

  25 de mayo, 212, 214, 228

  Acknowledgements

  Many people assisted me in one way or another with the preparation of this book. Some I cannot name for they are still members of the civil service; others I can and do mention in what follows. But there is one person to whom I owe special thanks.

  Government officials who prepare the ground for summit meetings are known in the trade as ‘sherpas’ after the Himalayan guides who assist people to climb Everest. My indispensable sherpa in the enterprise of writing this book has been Robin Harris. Robin has descended into the ravines of research for official papers to confirm or challenge my memory; he was a sure-footed guide through blizzards of fact and interpretation; and he ensured that the expedition reached its destination by the most direct route, in good order, and even attired with some elegance. Without his advice and help at every stage, I doubt that we could have reached the summit.

  We were not alone on the journey. John O’Sullivan came skiing in occasionally, tuned up the arguments, pared the prose and pushed forward the narrative. Without him this book would have taken longer to write and it would take longer to read.

  Another vital member of the team was Chris Collins, our researcher. He was meticulous, assiduous and totally committed; and to these qualities he added the valuable objectivity of the academic historian. Debbie Fletcher typed — and then retyped and typed again — the constantly evolving manuscript with impressive efficiency and unfailing cheerfulness. Tessa Gaisman brought her own special blend of good taste and common sense to the selection of the photographs. Carolyn Selman helped us sort press releases and press cuttings into manageable order. I am immensely grateful to all members of my memoirs team. Our work together has been — to borrow a phrase which appears later in this volume — ‘fraught but fun’.

  One of the more enjoyable aspects of memoir writing is the reliving of old times with good friends. I was able to draw on the recollections and reflections of many of those who, in different ways, were involved with the story I have told. I would like to express my special thanks to Cynthia Crawford, Sir Charles Powell, Sir Alan Walters and John Whittingdale MP, all of whose assistance was invaluable. I also had the benefit of advice on particular topics from Professor Tim Congdon, Andrew Dunlop, Lord Griffiths of Fforestfach, George Guise, Rt. Hon. the Hon. Archie Hamilton MP, Sir John Hoskyns, Sir Bernard Ingham, Dr Sheila Lawlor, John Mills, Rt. Hon. Sir Peter Morrison, Ferdinand Mount, Lord Parkinson of Carnforth, Caroline Ryder, Stephen Sherbo
urne, Sir Kenneth Stowe, Lady Wakeham and Lord Wolfson of Sunningdale.

  Leafing through the official papers, I found them fascinating but limited: indeed, their very dryness confirmed in my mind the value of writing this book. Some stories you have to live in order to tell. But, that said, I, who never kept a diary, would have been lost without them. I am, therefore, very obliged to Sir Robin Butler and the staff of the Cabinet Office for the kind and efficient way in which they made the records of my administration available to me.

  My publishers, HarperCollins, acted as publishers should — allowing the author to do her stuff but keeping her up to the mark and within the deadline. Eddie Bell was a reassuring and shrewd source of practical guidance. Stuart Proffitt worked tenaciously to ensure that jargon was removed and obscurity illumined. I am grateful to them both.

  Finally, I would like to thank Julian Seymour who runs my office: without him and the members of my staff this story could not have been told.

  MARGARET THATCHER

  June 1993

  Copyright

  A hardcover edition of this book was published in 1993 by HarperCollins Publishers.

  THE DOWNING STREET YEARS. Copyright © 1993 by Margaret Thatcher.

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  EPub Edition © JULY 2010 ISBN: 978-0-062-02910-2