Category: Before Parliament (1943-1979)

The text of Mr Major’s letter to the press on 13th July 1978.

MR JOHN MAJOR:

Sir, – I am sorry that the Liberal prospective parliamentary candidate does not understand the tax burden in the UK or my recent speech concerning it.

Statistics can, of course, be used to prove or disprove almost any contention, but some facts are indisputable. Amongst these is the fact that public expenditure takes approximately 60% of the national income and finances itself from taxation. (The present government claim public expenditure is only 48% by pretending that the interest they pay on the national domestic debt isn’t spending, but this is self-evidently bogus).

Moreover, it should not be assumed that taxation begins and ends with income tax. The government also collect taxes under the guise of national insurance, import and excise duties, value added tax, corporation tax and other company taxes. All these taxes reflect in prices paid and consequently represent additional taxes on everyone – not simply those in high incomes. My speech, and my statistics, referred to the total of these taxes and this should have been clear from the Hunts Post report.

The Liberal prospective candidate may also be interested to learn that during the last four years of Socialist government, the number of tax collectors has soared by 20,000 whereas employment everywhere, not least in Huntingdonshire, has fallen. It is a curiosity of history that Mr Callaghan may be a former chief petty officer but his administration now employs more tax men in the Inland Revenue than sailors in the Navy! Moreover, the total cost of employing these extra tax collectors would build three primary schools in every parliamentary consistency in the UK.

I am not sure of the Liberal candidate’s personal priorities, but I would rather have had the extra schools in Huntingdonshire – or a cut in taxation! Perhaps the Liberal candidate will advise his parliamentary colleagues of this alternative when next they consider whether to support a Socialist administration in office.

John Major

Conservative prospective candidate for Huntingdonshire
The Views, Huntingdonshire

The text of Mr Major’s letter to the press on 23rd October 1977.

MR JOHN MAJOR:

Sir – Old sins, it is said, cast long shadows, and certainly the economic sins of central government between 1974-1976 are now leading to a bleak future for Cambridgeshire as your front page report of October 6th illustrates (Teachers muster to fight cuts – axe hovers over 400 jobs).

As a parent whose children will be educated in Cambridgeshire, I am extremely concerned at cuts in education expenditure, but I do appreciate that the county council cannot print money and that unpopular decisions must follow the government’s arbitrary reduction of £10 million in the rate support grant; these are now becoming apparent and it is unfortunate that the county council must bear the odium for the government’s policy.

Of course, it is true that spending cuts were necessary nationally to curb the inflation engendered through past extravagance, but the burden would be more acceptable were it more fairly spread.

Unfortunately, however, the cuts in rate support grant are not distributed equitably; this, Newcastle with a falling population receives 71 per cent of its expenditure from the government whilst Cambridgeshire with an expanding population receives merely 53%. The reason for this curious distribution may be left to individual judgment (although there is little doubt in my mind) but what is undoubted is that it is grotesquely unfair when related to past government policy and priorities concerning the expansion of Huntingdon and Peterborough.

Central government actively encouraged expanding areas in satellite counties around London to accept overspill population as a contribution to the solution of the capital’s severe housing and social problems. Cambridgeshire willingly accepted this task and, in so doing, significantly assisted London but not without local cost: thus the expanding population adversely affected the ratio of pupils to teachers; of jobs to workers; of patients to doctors, dentists and hospital beds; it changed the environment of many villages; it expanded the natural size of population centres beyond what was anticipated and created a demand for an enhanced infrastructure at very considerable expense.

These are critically serious problems created because Cambridgeshire was prepared – rightly – to help central government to ameliorate the deprivation of inner London; we can now see that the government’s gratitude is such that they savagely cut the county’s income, leaving Cambridgeshire without the resources to cope with the problem they have absorbed at the government’s behest. Hence we must now suffer education cuts and probably much else as the months progress.

I believe that unless the rate support grant cuts are restored in future years, the prospect for Cambridgeshire is that she will become a Cinderella county with either soaring rate demands or shrinking standards across the whole range of county council services – or both.
These are unpalatable alternatives and, if they are to come about, it is to be hoped that the blame will be apportioned more fairly by the public than was the rate support grant by the government.

John Major

PPC for Huntingdonshire, The Views, Huntingdon

Below is the text of Mr Major’s election leaflet from 28th February 1974.

MR JOHN MAJOR:

Dear Elector,

I believe that the most important issue in this election is control of inflation because all our future well-being depends on it.

At present this must mean a Prices and Incomes Policy with control over increases in both. If this policy fails then we will all suffer. The Labour Party cannot, at present, carry out such a policy because the Trade Unions, with their excessive influence on Labour policy, will not let them.

As a Conservative I want agreement with the Unions and not confrontation. But the Government must prevail.

That is the issue you must decide.

Yours Sincerely,

John Major.

The text of Mr Major’s letter to the press on Friday 10th September 1971.

MR JOHN MAJOR:

The miserable performance of Lambeth’s Labour council stumbles on. Councillor Livingstone, vice-chairman of Housing, announces that Lambeth have adopted a policy of less co-operation with housing associations. In characteristic fashion this disgraceful decision is dressed up with muddled thinking and dishonest implications.

The muddled thinking is implicit in the policy. The council cannot possibly redevelop every site and rehouse every needy applicant for housing. Housing associations can, however, supplement the council’s activity and their help should be accepted. Instead Cllr. Livingstone implies there these organisations do not help those in need. Who on earth does he think they do rehouse?

Furthermore, he states that Lambeth will continue to support associations assisting the old and disabled. This is praiseworthy and yet the very first scheme to be scrapped is one catering for the elderly. Muddled, dishonest – or just plain vindictive?

The dishonesty of the statement continues. It is implied that the previous council “hived off” public land available for housing. This smear repeats a lie in Labour’s election manifesto which they have already been forced to correct in council. Will Cllr. Livingstone now justify his comment or withdraw it, please?

The councillor rounds off his incredibly ill-informed remarks with an implication that Tories have used housing associations to shirk their responsibilities in the field of housing. This is, of course, totally untrue and to emphasise this point will he now make public the size of the housing programme left by Labour in Lambeth in 1968 and compare it with the size of the Tory legacy in 1971?

John Major, former chairman, Lambeth Housing Committee. 24, Primrose Court, Hydethorpe Rd, SW12.