The Rt. Hon. Sir John Major KG CH

Tag: HM Queen Elizabeth II

  • Sir John Major’s Speech at the Carlton Club – 15 May 2012

    The text of Sir John Major’s speech, in May 2012, held at the Carlton Club to mark the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee. Sir John was introduced by Baron Freeman, who as Roger Freeman was the MP for Kettering from 1983 until 1997 and the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster from 1995 until 1997.

    BARON FREEMAN:

    Members of the Carlton Club, and their guests.

    Thank you for coming for the Jubilee dinner, it’s a great privilege to introduce our former Prime Minister, and a tremendous supporter of the Carlton Club, both personally and in his many responsibilities in Government.

    And so it’s a great pleasure to introduce and ask Sir John Major to say a few words about our Jubilee dinner celebrations.

    SIR JOHN MAJOR:

    Roger, thank you very much and good evening to all.

    As you can see I’m a touch under-dressed. I’m going elsewhere, less glamorous, maybe a bit more hard-working, I think you may have more fun than I will this evening. But my apologies for being less well turned out than the rest of you.

    I was coming in through this door a few moments ago and I recalled a conversation I had with Boris Yeltsin about twenty years ago. We were walking in the Kremlin, I said to him, “Boris, tell me in one word, what is the state of Russia”, he replied “good”. I was surprised, it was falling to pieces. I said “tell me in two words”. He said, “not good”.

    We, I think, are immediately in front of what is going to be a very good, very memorable, very remarkable weekend with the Queen’s sixtieth anniversary Jubilee.

    As I look around, and I hope it’s not unkind to say, I can see quite a number of people amongst us who will remember the Queen acceding to the Throne and will remember King George VI dying.

    I remember very plainly, I was 10, I remember my mother coming into the kitchen with tears in her eyes and saying “the King is dead, we have a Queen now”. And it was very different, suddenly at the end of those grey, dreary post-war years with the hardships and the rationing for so many people, we had a young glamorous Queen, with a young husband and a young family and the future suddenly looked rather different.

    She presented a new beginning, she offered that most elusive of all human emotions, hope. And those of us who were around at that time will remember that emotion very well indeed. And it seemed suddenly to be coming true. Very shortly afterwards we had a bonfire of many of the war and post-war controls, Rab Butler and the Government got rid of so many of them, they just suddenly disappeared.

    Then some very remarkable things happened, on the very eve of the Coronation, Edmund Hillary got to the top of Mount Everest in a quite remarkable feat, which no-one had thought given what had happened in the past would ever be done.

    And then we won back the Ashes. I may have been only 10, but I remember Denis Compton sweeping the ball backwards to square and thousands of people running onto the pitch, we had won the Ashes for the first time since the early 1930s. It seemed that all things were possible.

    Old favourites at last got their due, Stanley Matthews won the cup final for Blackpool, perhaps the most popular footballer this country has ever had. In a remarkable game when his team were losing 3-1 and he turned it around and they won. It was the new Elizabethan Age.

    And then miracles of miracles, a few months later, on a grey day at Oxford, with no pre-preparation Chris Brasher and Chris Chataway eased Roger Bannister round to run a mile in under four minutes for the first time in history. It seemed in this new Elizabethan Age that all things were possible.

    I personally remember the Coronation very well. My family, God knows how, scraped together enough money to buy a little black and white television. It was about ten inches, the pictures were dubious, but they came through occasionally. And most of the street crowded into our tiny little bungalow to watch those flickering pictures on the screen, it seemed then to be a miracle. Aged ten I watched them in between trips to make the tea and bring it back for what seemed the whole street who were there.

    And how things have changed in the reign of Elizabeth. World population has doubled, extra-ordinary, has doubled, it took us 1900 years from the time of Christ to increase world population by a billion, we now do it every 12 years, that’s why it has doubled under the reign of Queen Elizabeth II. In her reign, man has been put on the moon and we have reached far out to the skies.

    Things that were a miracle then are conventional necessities today but no young couple would think of marrying without actually having in their home. It was 25 years after the Queen had been on the throne that the first microwave came out. At then it was about 200 to 250 pounds for a microwave. So things have changed very dramatically, we may grumble sometimes, times at the moment are tough, not just tough in this country but tough almost everywhere and the difficult economic scenario overseas reflects back at home as well, and our difficulties reflect overseas.

    And so we grumble. And sometimes we complain about what the situation is, but however rose-coloured our glasses are about the past, so much has changed. And so much in the way in which we live our lives has changed for the better. We live longer, our health is better, our nourishment is better and child mortality is minute compared to what it was. So many changes and all to the good.

    And yet in a very material way, the Queen hasn’t changed at all. Of course, the Monarchy has evolved, and of course, the Queen is older than she was. Even Queens can’t hold birthdays at bay as the years come around.

    But in many material ways she hasn’t changed. As a 21 year old Princess Elizabeth, she pledged herself to the service of the nation and to the Commonwealth. My, how she has kept that promise over the last sixty years. In that way, she hasn’t changed at all, with a remarkable example of duty and selflessness and a commitment to public service. And I have been privileged to see her behind the scenes from time to time. And I can tell you that she’s every bit as remarkable as she seems from a distance, quite extraordinary. She is, we tend not to think of it.

    I travel around the world for six months every year, the Queen is the most famous woman anywhere in the world. When people in any far corner of the world talk of the Queen, they mean our Queen. In every single part of the world she is the central image that people across the world have of Monarchy as an institution.

    And consider what she has done, and what she has lived through, what you are celebrating this evening, at this particular dinner, in the last sixty years she has met every significant figure in the world, she is a living encyclopaedia of history. Almost impossible that in the whole of history that anyone has met quite so many people, even in times gone by. Even Queen Victoria, who reigned for slightly longer than our Queen could not have matched the people she met, for travel did not permit her to do so. So the Queen’s record in this respect is unique.

    And now we celebrate a very remarkable anniversary of hers. And those people who are the sneerers and the knockers will find what a tiny minority they are in our country when the whole country comes out to celebrate the sixtieth anniversary of the Queen’s accession to the throne.

    And what does the Queen say of this anniversary? In history it is entirely traditional that people present things to their Monarchs at great anniversaries. And what the Queen has said, “I would not wish to have any gifts or any presentations but I would like any gifts or presentations which people wish to offer as a tribute to me to go to the Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Trust”, of which I’m honoured to be Chairman.

    That trust was set up by all the heads of Government in the Commonwealth in Perth a few months ago. The purpose is to raise as much money from Governments, from local Governments, from companies, from foundations, individuals, to raise as much money as they can, and then the Queen would like it to be spent on projects that will be a legacy to her reign and will improve the lives of Commonwealth citizens in every single part of the Commonwealth.

    You might say ‘why the Commonwealth?’, and I emphasise for those that doubt it, that includes us in the UK, we will also get a slice of that money. So please don’t hold back on the donations. Anyone accessing our web-site, www.jubileetribute.org may found it perfectly easy to make any size of donation you’d like.

    So, why the Commonwealth? I think the answer to that is very simple. When the Queen came to the Throne, how many members of the Commonwealth do you think there were? The answer is eight. Eight members of the Commonwealth, there are now 54. The Queen and the Commonwealth have grown up together, and she is an essential part of it.

    To see her at a Commonwealth Heads of Government conference is to see a quite remarkable sight as people crowd around to see the Queen, meet the Queen, talk to the Queen and be photographed with the Queen.

    Do no doubt for one moment the enormous value of the Monarchy to Britain’s position in every part of the world, and most especially, within the Commonwealth. In 1952, when King George VI died and the Queen ascended to the throne, Truman was President, Churchill was Prime Minister and Stalin was in the Kremlin. It sounds like ancient history, but yet she has lived through every part of it. Even more incredibly, every day, every week during those 60 years, she has seen State papers, seen them and read them and built up a vast accumulation of knowledge that the head of MI5 and MI6 could only gasp at in admiration.

    And then a few years ago, the Queen Mother died, 102, and a much loved figure. But when she died, in a curious way that happens sometimes in countries such as ours, the Queen stood out alone, she became iconic. Not only in our country, but in every country of the world. She became, quite literally on the death of her mother, the mother of the nation.

    Anybody under the age of 70 would not remember, not really remember, anybody else on the Throne. They, and she, have grown up together. She, and the Duke of Edinburgh, who has been such a tremendous support to her, are a constant in everybody who is under the age of 70. And today, I think that the Monarchy is as secure in the affections of the nation as at any time I can remember in my lifetime or as in any time.

    We had in the 90s the ‘Annus Horribilis’, actually as I recall, the Queen and I had ‘Annus Horribili’ at the same time. It all seems such a long time ago, but I’m certainly not yet in a position to celebrate my Diamond Jubilee.

    Let me just say something else about the Queen, she is remarkable, but she isn’t remarkable just because she is the Queen. She is remarkable for her own virtues and assets. She has enormous common sense, she has the common sense of the English country-woman, if I might put it that way. Anyone who has seen her walking her dogs in the rain, early in the morning in mackintosh raincoat and wellington boots, will know exactly what I mean when I say she has the common sense, and many of the attitudes and instincts, of an English country-woman.

    Take it from me, I had the privilege of sitting with her every week for seven years, when we discussed all manner of things, both international and domestic. She’s a very wise lady. And how many people are there who have been in a position of public eminence, where the cameras of the world are focused on them every day, who still retain the affection of their nation after sixty years?

    The shelf-life of most personalities, of any sort, whatever they are involved in, is far, far, shorter than that. They move like fire-crackers up in the air, they fizzle for a while, and then they fall back to earth. But the Queen has gone on from strength to strength.

    I will give you one illustration of why. I remember a banquet in 1995, a very grand banquet, of which President Mitterrand and President Clinton were both attending, it was the fiftieth anniversary of D-Day. I looked at the table plan, President Mitterrand, not the most reserved of men, and also President Clinton, also not especially reserved, were both sitting way below the salt at the Queen’s long table. And my private secretary suggested to courtiers that this perhaps wasn’t the best placement there might have been.

    “Ah” he was told, “but it is protocol, members of the European royal families sit next to the Queen”. I thought this was perhaps mistaken. And in a manner in which I won’t bore you, with the message was delivered to the Queen that this was a bad idea. It changed instantly, and what was it the Queen said? I will tell you exactly what the Queen said, “You’re quite right, I should sit next to President Clinton and President Mitterrand, after all I can sit next to my cousins at any time I like”.

    I am, and always will be, very supportive, and indeed when you have your back turned to a Cecil [referring to a painting behind him at the Carlton Club], it is very wise to be supportive of the Monarchy.

    I think we’re here because we’re all supportive of the Monarchy, not just the Monarchy as an institution, but supportive of this particular Monarch as well. Let the knockers and the carpers have their hour in the sun from time to time. Get out of the familiar chattering circle of Whitehall and Westminster and get out into the counties and the cities of the United Kingdom, and you will see how deep and how secure and how enduring are the roots that sustain our Monarchy, and in particular, this special Monarch.

    And so tonight, on an evening when you are gathered here to celebrate that sixty years, and I am sadly going off to do some work, on the night you are gathered here, I would like to promote a toast that I think that we can all join in with a great deal of pleasure.

    The toast is to someone who has served our nation as well in my judgement as anyone in our long history of 1,000 years

    As anyone in our long history, the toast is,

    Her Majesty the Queen

    Thank you very much.

  • Sir John Major’s Comments on HM the Queen – 6 February 2012

    The text of Sir John Major’s comments on HM the Queen, made for the BBC programme “The Diamond Queen”, a third part series presented by Andrew Marr.

    PROGRAMME 1/3 – First broadcast on Monday 6th February 2012 on BBC1

    [25.33 minutes in – Referring to the weekly audiences with the Prime Minister]

    SIR JOHN MAJOR:

    It’s simply two people sitting down talking in an entirely relaxed and informal way. But they cover everything. The Queen as a Head of State has a right to know what is happening, has a right to know what her Prime Minister has in mind to do.

    PROGRAMME 2/3 – First broadcast on Monday 13th February 2012 on BBC1

    [26.43 minutes in – Referring to the reform of the Monarchy – Andrew Marr asked whether Sir John was worried about the status of the Monarchy during the early 1990s]

    SIR JOHN MAJOR:

    I was concerned at the shower of criticism and unpopularity that the Monarchy was facing in the short-term. I wasn’t worried about the long-term for two reasons.

    Firstly, we have seen this before, Queen Victoria being an obvious example, very unpopular for a very long period of time after Prince Albert died.

    Secondly, the roots of the Monarchy are so deep, that even in a period of unpopularity it can sustain that and come through at the end of it.

    [49.19 minutes in – Referring to foreign state visits]

    SIR JOHN MAJOR:

    I think people may not realise around the world what an iconic figure the Queen is. The highlight of the state visit is the Buckingham Palace banquet. It does an enormous amount of good.

    Can you quantify it? Very difficult.

    Does it matter? Yes.

    Is it in the British interest? Beyond a shadow of a doubt.

    Would we lose something if it wasn’t there? We certainly would.

    PROGRAMME 3/3 – First broadcast on Monday 20th February 2012 on BBC1

    [7.55 minutes in – Referring to his own memories of the Queen’s Coronation in 1953]

    SIR JOHN MAJOR:

    I was ten at the time and I remember my family scraping together their savings and buying a small black and white television to watch it. But it was hugely exciting, everybody was really uplifted. For most of the adults present it was the first great event since the dreary days of the war and the tough days that immediately followed, but it was symbolic of a new life people thought.

  • Sir John Major’s Comments on the Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Trust – 6 February 2012

    Below is the text of Sir John Major’s comments on the Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Trust, published on the 6th February 2012 on the official web-site at http://www.jubileetribute.org/.

    SIR JOHN MAJOR:
    As Her Majesty The Queen celebrates her Diamond Jubilee she does so as the second longest serving Monarch in a thousand years of British history.
    Her Majesty The Queen is Head of a Commonwealth of two billion people, in fifty-four nations over five Continents. At the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Perth last October, it was unanimously agreed to establish The Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Trust, to honour Her Majesty’s lifetime of duty, and create an enduring legacy to her sixty years of service.
    The Trust, which was launched officially on 6th February 2012 – the 60th Anniversary of Her Majesty’s Accession – aims to raise funds from Governments, individuals, organisations and industry, to invest in projects that will make a real and lasting impact on the lives of people – of all generations – throughout the Commonwealth.

  • Sir John Major’s Interview on the Andrew Marr Show – 5 February 2012

    The text of Sir John Major’s interview on the BBC’s Andrew Marr show, broadcast live on 5th February 2012.

    ANDREW MARR:

    We were looking at that extraordinary Irish visit there. And of course the process began when you were Prime Minister, although Tony Blair picked it up and went further forward with it. How conscious were you when you were doing that, that this might be difficult for the Royal Family? They’d lost Lord Mountbatten, they’d seen these terrible scenes of carnage not very far from Buckingham Palace in the old days.

    SIR JOHN MAJOR:

    Well of course when we began it in the early 1990s with Albert Reynolds, who was then the Irish Prime Minister, of course I discussed it with the Queen at our private meetings. I have no intention of telling you how it went, but of course the Queen was aware of what we were doing. And we had two objectives, both of which I think the Queen approved of. The first was to stop the slaughter that we were seeing in Northern Ireland, the indiscriminate murder that had gone on for far too long; and, secondly, to normalise relations between the United Kingdom and Ireland and North and South within Ireland. And I think the Queen approved of both of those. And the visit she made to Ireland, I think set the final seal on a relationship that has wholly changed in the last twenty years. Ireland are our nearest neighbour, they should be a close and enduring friend, and I think that is the circumstance we now have.

    ANDREW MARR:

    One of the things that certainly I came across a lot was people talking about the Queen’s religious side of her character, and therefore forgiveness being absolutely central to what she is for.

    SIR JOHN MAJOR:

    The Queen’s a wise lady. She understands different views. She’s never been perturbed by people who’ve had different views to her. She understands them, she has her own clear view, so certainly she would have understood that point very well. And I think the fact she is Head of the Church in the United Kingdom, she would fully understand other people’s convictions in a different church. That wouldn’t phase her in the slightest.

    ANDREW MARR:

    So she understood and in fact she was encouraging those very, very difficult early talks with the IRA?

    SIR JOHN MAJOR:

    I’ve no intention of telling you what was said privately. Let me simply say the Queen was fully informed and you have seen from the visit and what others have said how she feels about the outcome.

    ANDREW MARR:

    A lot of people are very interested about not what is said during those meetings, but are they really useful to Prime Ministers? David Cameron said that you know it was a chance during the week to really ask himself what he was up to in a sense because he was just in front of one person.

    SIR JOHN MAJOR:

    They’re very useful. I mean where else can you talk to one person in total certainty that it’s entirely secret; that nobody is going to talk to anybody else about what is said? So they’re very free, they’re very frank, they’re very useful. And of course the Queen has been there for sixty years, her first Prime Minister was Winston Churchill. Most of the present cabinet weren’t born when the Queen became monarch. So there’s very little she hasn’t seen and very little she doesn’t understand, and anyone who doesn’t listen to her view and consult her where necessary is missing a huge opportunity.

    ANDREW MARR:

    Well we’re allowed just a little clip of you with the Queen. I think you’ve just come back from Russia at this moment. Let’s look at that.

    [Clip from Elizabeth R shown which was broadcast in the 1990s]

    ANDREW MARR:

    A nice little clip there. So these things are terribly important. You know she’s obviously very interested in her constitutional role, so that’s the Irish side. What about Scotland now because you know we’re at the edge of some difficult decisions about Scotland? I mean whatever happens, she will be Queen of Scots. I just wondered what you thought of Alex Salmond’s kind of comment that the United Kingdom would carry on because the union of crowns would carry on?

    SIR JOHN MAJOR:

    Well I’ve no intention of mixing the Queen and politics and I think you know that, but I think I heard Alex Salmond say last week that whatever may happen in Scotland – and I have my clear views about what should happen, that whatever may happen in Scotland, the Queen would remain Queen as far as the Scots are concerned, and I think that is absolutely the view of, I would imagine, the vast majority of Scots.

    ANDREW MARR:

    Unlike any other country, we have someone therefore at the apex of the system who’s been there for sixty years. Does she have a sort of reasonable recall of the previous crises, all the ups and downs? I mean she’s been through the Cold War, she’s seen all this you know.

    SIR JOHN MAJOR:

    Andrew, you don’t forget crises, believe you me. You don’t forget crises and neither does the Queen.

    ANDREW MARR:

    Yes.

    SIR JOHN MAJOR:

    She remembers them very well. And in some cases within the Commonwealth, I mean she has this special affinity for the Commonwealth, and I think for two reasons. Firstly because King George VI, her father, to whom she was evidently very close indeed, was significant in setting up the Commonwealth in the first place. And, secondly, because she has grown up with the Commonwealth. When it began, it had eight members. It now has fifty-four. So she’s very close to it. And often when we discussed, she would not only know something about the country in the Commonwealth we were talking about or the head of state, but their father or their mother and often there were occasions where background information was extremely useful.

    ANDREW MARR:

    Yes. We saw Prince William in that quote, in that clip earlier on there, speaking very, very eloquently about the Queen and Ireland. He’s of course now down in the Falklands in his helicopter. But you’ve in some respects watched him grow up because you were involved when he was younger. Just give us your sense of how he’s evolving in the role that he’s got now.

    SIR JOHN MAJOR:

    Oh I think if you travel abroad, you can see a different perspective and you can see that the Duke of Cambridge and the Duchess are becoming iconic around the world. I think they’re a tremendous bonus for the Royal Family at the present time and I think the way they have conducted themselves has been absolutely without fault, and I think most people can see that. Clearly his career is very important to him, as it is to Prince Harry. He’s carrying out his role extremely well and I think that’s what people admire and respect.

    ANDREW MARR:

    But for all those people who kind of perhaps rather glibly open the papers and say “Oh well, can we not have him as our next King?” …

    SIR JOHN MAJOR:

    No, no.

    ANDREW MARR:

    As a constitutionalist explain why not.

    SIR JOHN MAJOR:

    No, no. Constitutionally not. The Queen took an oath at the Coronation that she would remain as Queen for the rest of her life. When, hopefully many years hence, the Queen is no longer with us, Prince Charles will become King. There can be no question of skipping a generation. It simply isn’t going to happen. It’s a piece of newspaper sophistry from time to time. After the Queen will come Prince Charles. After Prince Charles will come Prince William. That is I think a matter that is settled and is beyond doubt.

    ANDREW MARR:

    Now tomorrow I think, you are going to be launching a huge charitable project: the Diamond Jubilee Trust. Can you tell us a little bit about that? I don’t want to spoil your fire for it, but tell us a little bit about it and what you hope to achieve.

    SIR JOHN MAJOR:

    We’re establishing tomorrow the Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Trust. It was agreed that it would be set up by all the Heads of Government at the Commonwealth at their recent meeting in Australia, and I’m greatly honoured to have been asked to chair it.

    The purpose of the trust is to raise money across the whole of the Commonwealth, I hope governments, companies, individuals will all contribute. We will raise this money just for a single year and then we will spend it on appropriate projects across the whole of the Commonwealth, including of course the United Kingdom. We’ll enter I hope into partnerships with people, so that we can leverage, so we can increase the amount of money we have had donated, to use it for the sort of projects I think that most people would approve of.

    ANDREW MARR:

    So we’re talking about projects involving children and disadvantaged groups?

    SIR JOHN MAJOR:

    Yes, no detailed decisions have been taken, but that sort of project. And it will all be there specifically as a legacy to the Queen and her long reign and her long service to the Commonwealth. I don’t think people who haven’t seen her with the Commonwealth, heads of government, can possibly understand what it’s like. There’s a very good relationship, she is iconic to them. And she and the Duke of Edinburgh – and the Duke has been quite superb of course throughout her reign – she and the Duke of Edinburgh are enormously popular across the Commonwealth and it’s unsurprising that when there was a suggestion from the heads of government of a tribute that the Queen would like the sums raised to be dispersed across the Commonwealth, including – as I say – the United Kingdom.

    ANDREW MARR:

    Of course the Falklands are part of the Commonwealth. Prince William down there at the moment and a huge amount of kind of jumping up and down and shouting in Buenos Aires.

    SIR JOHN MAJOR:

    I think there’s bound to be a certain amount of shouting. I think that’s what it will amount to – shouting and no more.

    ANDREW MARR:

    And no more. Alright, for now thank you very much indeed, Sir John Major.

    SIR JOHN MAJOR:

    My pleasure.

    [Break for news]

    ANDREW MARR:

    Sir John Major is still here and we’re going to talk a little bit just at the end about Syria because we’ve used enormously strong language at the United Nations yesterday, as have the Americans, about the Russians and the Chinese. I just wanted you know your perspective on actually what can happen, because it seems that the international community is now badly stuck.

    SIR JOHN MAJOR:

    I think there are two things that are happening. Certainly we’ve seen the enormous changes across the whole of the Middle East. The democratic genie is out of the bottle and I don’t think it’s going to stop at the borders of Syria. So I think this is an issue that is going to continue. I think two things are happening at the moment. First, we are moving perilously close to a full-scale civil war. Secondly, I think Syria is becoming a pariah state. And if I can add a third thought. I don’t think in these circumstances that the Assad regime will survive. How much damage it will do in the short-term, I can’t say. How long it will survive is unknown, but I don’t think it will be a credible government for all that much longer. It has no support, except no doubt for Iran and for China and for Russia, beyond that no-one can possibly sanction what they’re doing.

    ANDREW MARR:

    And is there anything more do you think that a country like Britain can do, you know to avoid the break-up and the fall of the regime – if that’s what’s going to be happen – being too bloody, being too disruptive – not least I suppose to Israel which is next door, of course?

    SIR JOHN MAJOR:

    Well I think there are several thoughts related to that. Firstly, I think those in China and Russia might search their consciences about their veto. They are effectively giving a green light to a pretty bad regime to murder people, and I think one needs to put it bluntly so they understand what they have done and so the world understands what they have done. As far as what other nations can do, it’s possible to apply sanctions through the European Union, it’s possible to apply sanctions through nation states, it’s possible to use diplomacy. I think all those measures should be used and used as a matter of urgency and I don’t think the United Nations should leave this matter. If China and Russia have vetoed it once, let us see if they will at some stage veto it again as public pressure and international condemnation builds up.

    ANDREW MARR:

    Good final thought. Sir John Major, thank you very much indeed for joining us today.

  • Sir John Major’s Statement on the Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Trust – 28 October 2011

    The text of Sir John Major’s statement on the Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Trust, issued on 28th October 2011.

    SIR JOHN MAJOR:

    I am delighted and honoured to accept Chairmanship of The Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Trust.

    The Queen has dedicated her life to public service, a remarkable 60 years of which have been on the throne. Through its activities, the Trust will create an enduring tribute to one of our longest-serving Monarchs, who is held in enormous affection by many millions of people around the Commonwealth and the wider world.

    The Trust will place great emphasis on enriching the lives of individuals, by focusing on areas such as the tackling of curable disease and the promotion of all forms of education and culture.

    It is our hope that people of all ages, and from all corners of the Commonwealth and the wider world, might become involved – and feel part of – the Diamond Jubilee celebrations. But the Trust will provide a lasting legacy, in the name of HM Queen Elizabeth II, and I look forward to announcing the Trustees, and to providing full details of the Trust’s aims, objectives and operational plans, in due course.

  • Mr Major’s Comments on the Queen’s 70th Birthday – 17 April 1996

    Below is the text of Mr Major’s comments on the Queen’s 70th Birthday, made on Wednesday 17th April 1996.

    QUESTION:

    [Mr Major was asked about the Queen’s Reign and how it could be summarised].

    PRIME MINISTER:

    Well I think in exactly the way she foresaw it when she first became Queen. As I recall, one of the first things she said, perhaps even the first speech, was to speak about a life of service, and I think that’s what we’ve seen over the last 40 odd years. A supreme example of service and responsibility to a nation. That is what the Queen has been. It has been above and beyond politics and all the stronger for that.

    QUESTION:

    [Mr Major was asked what he thought would be the future for the Monarchy].

    PRIME MINISTER:

    The Monarchy will continue. I don’t think there’s any doubt about that. It will continue on. It has built into the warp and weft of our life. It has been there. It couldn’t be replaced in the fashion in my judgement Those people who occasionally babble of talk of a republic have no idea of the dramatic changes that would mean. I think that is nonsense, it is against the spirit of the British instinct and I think the Monarchy will continue. Of course it will change. It’s changed during the period the Queen’s reign. It’s become a much more open Monarchy than it was, and I think you’ll see that gentle change continue in the future. Impossible to predict precisely how, but there will be changes, but I think they will be consistent with the movement of British life.

    QUESTION:

    [Mr Major was asked for any personal comments he had regarding the Queen’s birthday].

    PRIME MINISTER:

    Well I think there are several things really. I would hope for the nation as a whole, that they could perhaps appreciate and see a little more, rather more of what actually the Monarchy means, and what actually the Queen does. People see the formal side of the Monarchy. What we don’t often see is the bubbling sense of fun that exists underneath that. I’d like people to see rather more of that. But I suppose there’s perhaps a more formal response to your question. The answer I think probably lies in the National Anthem itself – long to reign over us. I think that’s what I’d wish to see and the country too as well.

    QUESTION:

    [Mr Major was asked about the divorce of the Duke and Duchess of York].

    PRIME MINISTER:

    Well any divorce of any young couple is of course a very sad affair. Something that starts off with such bright hopes collapses and comes to an end. So I think everyone will be very sad on a personal level about that. But I think it is the right decision to be made. It’s clear both to the Duke and Duchess and I think to everyone else, that that marriage has broken down and I think the right thing to do now is to end it quickly, clearly in the fashion it has been done. I think that’s in the interest of the Duke, in the interest of the Duchess and I think in everyone elses’ interests as well.

    QUESTION:

    [Mr Major was asked if it would damage the Monarchy].

    PRIME MINISTER:

    I don’t think so to be honest. I don’t believe that is so. Clearly it has been a difficult period for the Monarchy over the past few years for one reason or another, and I think everyone acknowledges that. But the strength of the Monarchy is such that it will be able to overcome these difficulties, is overcoming them, and the divorce I think will be seen as an inevitability by most people. But I don’t think it is going to have any lasting impact whatsoever upon the Monarchy or, equally important, upon people’s perception of the Monarchy. That has a particular role, a particular responsibility and that will continue.

  • Mr Major’s Doorstep Interview in Moscow – 16 February 1994

    Below is Mr Major’s doorstep interview in Moscow on Wednesday 16th February 1994.

    QUESTION:

    Prime Minister, what can you tell us about the likelihood of this Royal Visit by The Queen?

    PRIME MINISTER:

    We have been considering for some time the possibility of The Queen visiting Russia, Her Majesty is keen to do it, I believe it is a very good idea. The Russians have now had democratic elections, they have got a democratically elected President, it now seems an appropriate time to proceed with it. It may happen as early as this autumn but final details are not yet arranged.

    QUESTION:

    What do you hope to achieve by this visit of The Queen?

    PRIME MINISTER:

    The relationship between the United Kingdom and Russia has been getting closer over some time, I think that will set the seal on the much closer relationship we now have.

    QUESTION:

    Is it the first visit since the death of the Romanovs?

    PRIME MINISTER:

    So far as I am aware it is the first visit for a very long time, it may even be the first visit ever.

    QUESTION:

    It is quite clear that Mr Yeltsin very much wants this visit, it gives him I suppose a sort of respectability in everyone’s eyes?

    PRIME MINISTER:

    I discussed this matter with Mr Yeltsin some time ago, we discussed it again yesterday, there were some more discussions overnight with London and I was able to confirm to him this morning that the visit was on. But we as yet have to agree dates.

    QUESTION:

    Will she be seeing a bit more than just Moscow, a very extensive tour?

    PRIME MINISTER:

    We are looking at the programme now, that is not yet clear how much she will see but I would think certainly more than Moscow.

    QUESTION:

    Have you had a reaction from The Queen?

    PRIME MINISTER:

    I have discussed this with Her Majesty in the past, she is keen to make this visit.

    QUESTION:

    What does she hope to get out of the visit herself?

    PRIME MINISTER:

    I think The Queen is very keen to visit Russia and see Russia, The Queen is one of the finest Ambassadors the United Kingdom has ever had. I think from that point of view it is highly desirable that she should visit Russia and she is very keen to see it herself.

  • Mr Major’s Commons Statement on Royal Taxation – 11 February 1993

    Below is the text of Mr Major’s statement made in the House of Commons on 11th February 1993 on the subject of Royal taxation.

    PRIME MINISTER:

    The Prime Minister (Mr John Major): With permission, Madam Speaker, I should like to make a statement about my further discussions with Her Majesty the Queen about taxation and Civil List payments.

    On 26 November, I told the House that the Queen had asked me to consider the basis on which she might voluntarily pay tax on her personal income and also take responsibility for certain payments under the current Civil List arrangements. His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales had made a similar request in respect of his income from the Duchy of Cornwall.

    I am now able to tell the House that the further discussions between the Treasury, the Inland Revenue and the royal household have been completed, and that Her Majesty and His Royal Highness have accepted the arrangements proposed.

    The royal trustees are today publishing a report setting out the future tax arrangements for both the Queen and the Prince of Wales. The report includes a memorandum of understanding recording the detailed rules which will apply for income tax, capital gains tax and inheritance tax. The agreement takes effect from 6 April 1993. It provides for the Queen to pay income tax on all her personal income, whether from investments or from other sources. In addition, tax will be paid on that part of the privy purse income which is used for private purposes. There will be no tax payable on income from the Civil List, since that is used to meet official expenses and is not a source of personal income for the Queen; the same will apply in respect of other payments and facilities provided by the state for official purposes.

    Her Majesty will also pay tax on any realised capital gains on her private investments and on the private proportion of assets in the privy purse.

    In the unique circumstances of an hereditary monarchy, special arrangements are needed for inheritance tax. There could, for example, be no question of taxing assets such as the royal palaces which the Queen owns as sovereign and not in a private capacity. The agreement reached with Her Majesty therefore provides that inheritance tax should apply to all bequests or gifts by the sovereign other than to transfers of assets from one sovereign to his or her successor. As the House will know, the Prince of Wales is already fully liable to tax, except on the income that he receives from the Duchy of Cornwall. From 6 April 1993 he will pay income tax on his Duchy of Cornwall income to the extent that it is used for private purposes; this arrangement will replace the voluntary payment of 25 per cent. of Duchy income that he currently makes to the Consolidated Fund. The Inland Revenue will administer these arrangements, and the tax received from the Queen and the Prince of Wales will be included in the Inland Revenue’s accounts. The Queen and the Prince of Wales will both have the same confidentiality on tax matters as any other taxpayer. Although these arrangements are voluntary, both the Queen and the Prince of Wales intend that they should continue indefinitely. Any changes in taxes or tax rates will automatically be applied.

    The report of the royal trustees also sets out the new arrangements that are being made for the management of the royal collection of paintings and other works of art. The royal collection is held by the Queen as sovereign and passes from one sovereign to the next. The collection cannot be sold to generate private income or capital for the use of the Queen, and the Queen does not benefit personally from the income generated by the collection.

    So as to make the status of the royal collection clear, Her Majesty intends that the maintenance, conservation and presentation to the public of the royal collection should in future become the responsibility of a new charitable trust. The trust will fund itself from the income generated from admission charges and other sources. The new arrangements should improve access to the royal collection for the whole country.

    The report also confirms that the Government have accepted the Queen’s generous offer to refund the cost of a further five of the parliamentary annuities payable to members of the royal family under the Civil List legislation, in addition to the three annuities that she already refunds. That will apply from 1 April 1993. The result will be that only the annuities paid to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother and to His Royal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh will continue as a direct charge on the Consolidated Fund.

    I am confident that the House will welcome these initiatives by the Queen and the Prince of Wales. The new arrangements will ensure that, so far as possible, the Queen will pay tax on her personal income according to the normal tax rules and will herself take responsibility for the Civil List payments to almost all other members of the royal family.

  • PMQT – 6 February 1992

    Below is the text of Prime Minister’s Question Time from 6th February 1992.

    PRIME MINISTER:

     

    Engagements

    Q1. Sir Anthony Grant : To ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Thursday 6 February.

    The Prime Minister (Mr. John Major) : This morning I presided at a meeting of the Cabinet and had meetings with ministerial colleagues. In addition to my duties in the House, I shall be having further meetings later today.

    Sir Anthony Grant : Does my right hon. Friend recall that, when he was eight and I was a little older, Her Majesty the Queen acceded to the throne? Will he join me in expressing our deep respect, our loyal affection and our good wishes to Her Majesty on the 40th anniversary of her accession?

    Does my right hon. Friend agree that the Queen has set a shining example of steadfast service over four decades of momentous political and social change, and will he wish her many more years of a great and glorious reign?

    The Prime Minister : I am happy to accept my hon. Friend’s invitation. The Cabinet discussed the matter this morning, and the whole House may care to listen to the message that the Cabinet agreed to send Her Majesty :

    “At the Cabinet meeting today, Your Majesty’s Ministers agreed that I should convey to Your Majesty our warmest good wishes on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of Your Accession to the Throne. This was in recognition of the incomparable contribution Your Majesty has made to the life of our nation throughout your Reign.” I am sure that those are sentiments that the whole House would wish to endorse.

    Hon. Members : Hear, hear.

    Mr. Kinnock : May I join the Prime Minister–and, I am sure, the whole House–in sending good wishes to Her Majesty, and in expressing the admiration that I know is felt throughout our country, the Commonwealth and, indeed, the wider world for the wisdom, strength and dedication that Her Majesty has invariably shown throughout the four decades in which she has been our sovereign?

    The Prime Minister : I believe that the right hon. Gentleman speaks for all our millions of fellow citizens.

    Mr. Kinnock : May I– [Laughter.]

    Mr. Speaker : Order. Mr. Kinnock.

    Mr. Kinnock : Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

    When the Prime Minister told us on Tuesday that, like the British economy, Japan’s economy was, as he put it, in recession, had he overlooked the fact that last year, while our economy shrank by 2.5 per cent., Japan’s economy grew by 4.5 per cent.?

    The Prime Minister : As the right hon. Gentleman knows, a number of countries around the world are in recession, are heading towards recession or are coming out of recession. According to the latest figures, Australia, New Zealand and Sweden are at the moment in recession. In the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom, the worst of the recession is over ; in West Germany and Japan, growth has slowed and is slowing.

    I noted this morning that the right hon. and learned Member for Monklands, East (Mr. Smith) now at last admits that there is a world situation which is on a downturn. I hope that the Leader of the Opposition will also have the courage to admit that.

    Mr. Kinnock : There are economies that are slowing ; ours is in reverse because of the Prime Minister’s policies.

    On Tuesday, the Prime Minister said that Japan was in recession. It is worth reminding him of the fact that Japan’s economy grew by 4.5 per cent., and ours shrank by 2.5 per cent. Japan’s unemployment is at 2 per cent., while ours is at 9 per cent. Is it not now obvious that, because of his policies, the Prime Minister is reduced to imagining recovery at home while inventing recessions abroad?

    The Prime Minister : Every one of the right hon. Gentleman’s policies would lead to a continuing recession, and that is well known. The right hon. Gentleman ignores the fact that I head a Government who have cut interest rates seven times in the past 12 months, halved inflation in a year and built up the best industrial relations in half a century. The reality, I fear, is that the right hon. Gentleman does not understand the economy or how it works. The right conditions for economic growth are low taxes, the right hon. Gentleman wants high taxes ; low inflation, the right hon. Gentleman would engender high inflation ; and good labour relations, the right hon. Gentleman would reintroduce the old, bad trade union practices. Everything that the right hon. Gentleman proposes would lead to the perpetual recession of which I spoke on Tuesday.

    Sir Bernard Braine : May I revert to the question of my hon. Friend the Member for Cambridgeshire, South-West (Sir A. Grant)? I speak as Father of the House. Is it not a matter of great rejoicing, wherever we may sit in the House, that throughout the past 40 years, which have seen such momentous changes as the peaceful transition from empire to Commonwealth, the ending of the cold war and the coming together of former enemies in the European Community, Her Majesty has presided over this nation unfailingly, with a dignity and devotion to duty for which we are all greatly thankful?

    The Prime Minister : My right hon. Friend is right and speaks with the authority of many years’ membership of the House. One of the most striking facts of the Commonwealth, as I saw clearly at the Commonwealth conference in Harare, is the immense affection and admiration that exists for Her Majesty the Queen among all Commonwealth leaders and countries.

    Mr. Ashdown : May I associate myself, my right hon. and hon. Friends and our party with the sentiments expressed by the Prime Minister on the 40th anniversary of Her Majesty’s accession to the throne?

    On the more unhappy subject of Northern Ireland, in the light of the appalling horrors which last night added to the seemingly endless litany of tragedy in that unhappy Province, does the Prime Minister agree that the first condition for defeating terrorism in Northern Ireland is to ensure that the politicians there get together and work together?

    The Prime Minister : I believe that the whole House will share the right hon. Gentleman’s view on both the matters that he raised. The recent activities–the shooting of five men and the wounding of others the other evening–were another terrible and unnecessary scar on the history of Northern Ireland. It would greatly assist the activities in Northern Ireland and the search for peace if the clearest possible lead was given by all politicians in this country and Northern Ireland.

    Sir Alan Glyn : I thank my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister for his message from the Cabinet and Government. Is he aware of early day motion 580, already signed by 165 hon. Members, which expresses the views of Back Benchers and their loyalty and congratulations to Her Majesty? It does not include members of the Cabinet or Government, or of the shadow Cabinet, and, unfortunately, is not even allowed to include Parliamentary Private Secretaries. Will my right hon. Friend please convey that message to Her Majesty?

    The Prime Minister : My hon. Friend expresses sentiments that are shared by the whole House.

    Mr. Molyneaux : May I associate my right hon. and hon. Friends with the tribute paid by the Prime Minister to Her Majesty the Queen, and may I join in the other congratulations already expressed?

    The Prime Minister : I am grateful to the right hon. Gentleman, and I shall ensure that Her Majesty is aware of what has been said.

    Rev. Ian Paisley (Antrim, North) : May I associate myself with the Prime Minister’s remarks about Queen Elizabeth II? Does the right hon. Gentleman really believe that if politicians in Northern Ireland had been sitting at a table, the awful atrocities that we have witnessed in the past few days would not have taken place? If he and this House believe that, there is no hope for Northern Ireland.

    The Prime Minister : I am grateful for the hon. Gentleman’s words about Her Majesty the Queen.

    The point that I was seeking to make a moment ago–I reiterate it now–is that I think that it is to the advantage of everyone in Northern Ireland for the politicians of Northern Ireland, of all shades of opinion, to come together, to talk and to express their mutual wish for peace in Northern Ireland.

     

    Q2. Mr. Eastham : To ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Thursday 6 February.

    The Prime Minister : I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer that I gave some moments ago.

    Mr. Eastham : The latest year for which figures are available on the number of new houses built in the United Kingdom is 1990. A comparison with 1980 shows that 38,000 fewer houses were built in 1990. Why is it the policy of the Government to build fewer houses?

    The Prime Minister : The hon. Gentleman might more accurately have asked which local authorities had the highest number of vacant dwellings. I shall tell him : numbers of vacant dwellings are highest in Liverpool, then in Manchester, then in Salford, then in Burnley, then in Brent, then in Hackney, then in Tower Hamlets, then in Knowsley, then in Newcastle and then in Wolverhampton. The characteristic of all those areas is that for a long time they have been Labour controlled, although Conservatives have been in control in Brent for the past year and the Liberal Democrats have recently been in control in Tower Hamlets. There is no doubt which party fails people on housing.

    Sir Fergus Montgomery : Has my right hon. Friend noticed the remarks of Sir Brian Corby, the president of the CBI, who said that to sign the social charter would be an act of remarkable lunacy? Does he agree that, if we signed the social chapter, employers’ costs would rise and jobs and foreign investment would disappear, all of which would be bad for this country?

    The Prime Minister : I most certainly agree with that view, which is why I declined to sign the social chapter. I believe that it would cost jobs and cost prosperity in this country. It is noticeable that a number of other politicians abroad have made it perfectly clear that this country becomes a more attractive place for investment–and therefore for jobs and prosperity–because we are not committed to the costs of the social chapter.

     

    Q3. Mr. Win Griffiths : To ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Thursday 6 February.

    The Prime Minister : I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer that I gave some moments ago.

    Mr. Griffiths : Why have pensions dropped from 20 per cent. of average earnings to 16 per cent. under the Tories? Does the Prime Minister believe that pensioners were paid too much in 1979, or will he express regret at that meanness and raise pensions in line with Labour’s plans?

    The Prime Minister : The hon. Gentleman should look at history. If he talks about pensioners, he should let the facts speak for themselves : under the previous Labour Government, the real average income of pensioners rose by only 3 per cent. and their income from savings fell by 16 per cent. The Labour party had no place for pensioners in the past and no promises that it can properly meet for the future.

    Sir Ian Lloyd : The Prime Minister will no doubt have noticed the interesting exception that President Bush made in his state of the union message to Congress, when he said that his Government were too big and spent too much. The exception was that he proposed to maintain research expenditure at the record level of $77 billion and to make permanent the fiscal allowances for research and development. If my right hon. Friend should be considering with his right hon. Friend the Chancellor any largesse over the next two or three weeks, will he ensure that a few crumbs from the Treasury table fall in that direction?

    The Prime Minister : My hon. Friend will know that there was a real- terms increase in the science and technology budget this year, a point that has been readily acknowledged by scientists up and down the country. As for potential largesse, there is no lack of applications for any that there might be.

     

    Q4. Mr. Tony Banks : To ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Thursday 6 February.

    The Prime Minister : I refer the hon. Gentleman to the reply that I gave some moments ago.

    Mr. Banks : May I thank the Prime Minister for allowing his Ministers to vote as they wish on the Wild Mammals (Protection) Bill on Friday 14 February, St. Valentine’s day? If the Bill is passed, it will stop the massacre of harmless creatures like deer, hares and foxes.

    No one expects the Prime Minister to be here to vote on Friday 14 February, but will he tell the House and the country whether he supports the abolition of fox hunting, deer hunting and hare coursing? I hope that his answer is yes.

    The Prime Minister : It is a matter for the individual conscience of every hon. Member, which is precisely why I am allowing a free vote by my Ministers on the Bill. As the hon. Gentleman knows, the Bill in question goes a good deal wider than just the matters that he has been addressing. Because it goes a good deal wider, I will not myself be supporting it.

     

    Q5. Mr. Colvin : To ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Thursday 6 February.

    The Prime Minister : I refer my hon. Friend to the reply that I gave some moments ago.

    Mr. Colvin : Will my right hon. Friend send a message today to the leaders of the National Association of Local Government Officers who are spending some £2 million on a shoddy and inaccurate advertising campaign, telling them that their policies of abandoning competitive tendering, abolishing the Audit Commission and introducing a minimum wage would be acceptable only to a party which has already sold its soul to the trade union bosses?

    The Prime Minister : My hon. Friend makes a very sound point. It is clear that the advertisements appearing today show that now, as in the past, the Labour party remains in hock to the trade unions.