The Rt. Hon. Sir John Major KG CH

Tag: Second World War

  • Sir John Major’s Interview with Nick Robinson for the BBC World Service – 8 May 2025

    The interview between Sir John Major and Nick Robinson, recorded for the BBC World Service.

    NICK ROBINSON

    For this interview, I met Sir John Major, former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, who came to speak to us at the BBC headquarters at Broadcasting House. You’re going to hear Sir John’s recollection of the end of the war, what it meant for him and his family, as well as the lessons he believes we should learn from the sacrifices that were made then, his concerns about the future of the NATO alliance, the future of Ukraine and the threat it poses to us all, if tyranny is, in his words, allowed to succeed. Welcome to the interview from the BBC World Service with me, Nick Robinson.

    SIR JOHN MAJOR

    I, of course, was only two when the war ended, and don’t have any direct memories of it, but I do recall my parents talking about it later. I recall one thing, I think my mother said at the time that the day must have been the most joyous day in the whole history of our country and I think that is probably true. What people perhaps didn’t focus on then was what came after the sheer change between before the war and after the war, in the lives of so many families, the sheer difficulties that they were to face when you had a country that was all but bankrupt, if not actually bankrupt, where you had rationing on food still for another eight or nine years to come. People had no concept of how life would change, and it was a very tough few years following VE Day.

    NICK ROBINSON

    Given what you say, which is inevitably that there will be fewer and fewer people with direct memories. Do you fear that we as a country may forget the lessons? May forget what that generation grew up knowing?

    SIR JOHN MAJOR

    I think there’s a real risk of that. I mean, at the moment, people take democracy for granted. I don’t think it’s safe to do that. Democracy has been in retreat for the last 16, 17, 18 years in many parts of the world and we have some people running countries at the moment who are far from democratic, they’re tyrannical. I think the people faced by Hitler realised they were facing tyranny and they fought together in order to ensure that tyranny was defeated. But there is tyranny in different parts of the world and we have to be as strong and as resolute about it now as they were then.

    NICK ROBINSON

    How do you convince a younger generation who may, some, look at this and think this is just nostalgia? This is an older generation saying that everything we’ve mentioned before, this was the greatest generation, this was our finest hour. How do you convince them?

    SIR JOHN MAJOR

    Everything in our country wasn’t better before, despite all the problems we’ve had since the wartime period, the lives of people today are despite the difficulties we face, despite the lack of growth in recent years, despite the immediate problems, all of that is immeasurably better than the life in and in the 1940s and the 1950s. Once again, if I can quote my mother, doing it twice in just a couple of minutes, she once looked back on those days and referred to them as “the days of lino, no hot running water and outside toilets” and that was the way most people lived. There were people who were very lucky and lived in a different style, but the vast majority who were alive during those days will remember that. Nothing like that would be remotely acceptable today.

    As far as democracy is concerned, we actually have sight in Ukraine of what an anti-democracy led by a tyrannical leader is actually capable of doing, without purpose, without reason, without justification. They invade another country, are continually bombarding both the civilian population and the military establishments and also, unbelievably, in this day, had people whose job it is to kidnap children from Ukraine and steal them away from their parents and into Russia. Now if that isn’t tyranny, I don’t know what is. If we hadn’t had NATO, if we weren’t built up as a military establishment, who knows how much earlier this might have happened? Who knows how much further Putin and his plans may have gone?

    NICK ROBINSON

    How much further? In other words, for those who think that that’s Ukraine, she borders Russia, it’s a long way away, this won’t affect us.

    SIR JOHN MAJOR

    No, try and say that to all of Russia’s neighbours, and they’ll tell you very differently. They are frightened of what may happen and they have reason to be frightened if Putin gets his way over Ukraine. By get his way, I don’t just mean take over all Ukraine, which I don’t think he’s capable of doing, but actually a bad peace is made in which he’s offered things he should not be offered and given advantages he should not be given. He has to be seen to lose or the danger of Putin continues. If Putin gets away with it, what is to stop other countries thinking they can do the same? Why should President Xi not think well, ”the West are very weak-kneed. I think I can deal with Taiwan now.”

    Why should not other people in different parts of the world do exactly the same thing? Open the doors to any success for tyranny, and you are opening a very dangerous situation indeed. We have to keep saying that. We have to keep defending democracy, keep explaining to the next generation what it is that it means not to be democratic. Let me give you an example, young people today often say very savage things about politicians and successive governments, they’re perfectly entitled to in this country. Indeed, it’s a national habit, it’s something we have come to expect. If they said that in Russia about Putin, they would be falling out of a high window in Moscow or be in a gulag somewhere in Siberia. That’s the difference between living in a democracy, which we should cherish, and living in a country as Russia is, with its ill-fated leader and his nefarious activities.

    NICK ROBINSON

    You’ve warned just now very clearly of what you call a bad peace. There’s a word that we used to have for that, isn’t it? Appeasement?

    SIR JOHN MAJOR

    Yes.

    NICK ROBINSON

    Would you use that word?

    SIR JOHN MAJOR

    I’m perfectly prepared to use that word.

    NICK ROBINSON

    And the suggestion by Donald Trump that territory is handed over would be appeasement, would it?

    SIR JOHN MAJOR

    I don’t think we should do that, I don’t think that would be a proper thing to do. We’re in a very curious situation, because we’re not entirely sure exactly what America’s commitment to the war is. It seems to change with ad hoc remarks that appear on the internet and are suddenly said. Sometimes they’re overturned, sometimes they’re not. So we can’t be sure and uncertainty is a very risky proposition, but what it has done has made it clear to the Europeans that we have failed to devote as much of our resources to our own defence in the last 30 or 40 years, and must now do so, so that we are ourselves in Europe sure of what defence we can offer for ourselves, rather than necessarily being prepared to rely on the resources of the United States. We cannot be certain that that will be there.

    NICK ROBINSON

    President Biden warned about the consequences of what you call uncertainty. He said that he feared that countries that border Russia were to use his word ‘accommodate’ with the Kremlin, they would change so as not to offend Vladimir Putin.

    SIR JOHN MAJOR

    Well, early signs may not only be countries adjacent to Russia who were prepared to offer a defensive crouch when Putin demands something and that is unattractive. Once you get into that position, you are going to lose the argument. There is a growing risk of tyranny and that growing risk requires Europe to be as strong and self defensive as she can possibly make herself, and that means working together.

    NICK ROBINSON

    When you talk of losing the argument, do you understand that something that your generation of leaders have now lost the argument, that it is not just Donald Trump, there are people all over Europe as well saying, ‘let’s put our own people first. Let’s not spend money on worrying about someone else’s borders’.

    SIR JOHN MAJOR

    I know. There’s a great far right nationalist surge in many countries, including our own. You see it in Germany, you see it in France, you see it in Italy, you see it in the UK, you certainly see it in Hungary. We should be agitated about that and if the Democrats don’t fight back, if the Democrats just begin to appease this far right thought, absorb it and pay off the dragon bit by bit by adopting a little bit of their policy, because it may mean that they attack you last, then that is absolutely the wrong way. We should have drawn a line in the sand, I think, some time ago, but I think it is very important now that the democracies begin to defend democracy itself and speak out against the sort of extreme right wingery we’re seeing in many parts of Europe, as well as other parts of the world.

    I feel very strongly about it. I’m coming to the end of my days, a few years left, I’d hope. But there’s no doubt that the longest days I have are way behind me, and I’m sorry perhaps we didn’t draw the line a little further, a little sooner. We certainly ought to draw it now.

    NICK ROBINSON

    When you say that others should draw the line clearly?

    SIR JOHN MAJOR

    I’m talking about the countries right across Europe. When you speak of Europe, but for an accidental geographical event a couple of billion years ago, we would actually be on the mainland of Europe. We’re not. But to all intents and purposes in terms of our security and our interests, we still remain in the European sphere of influence. We need to work with them. I don’t like the fiddling bureaucracy of Europe and never did. My support for Europe was always based on a very clear calculation, and it was this, ‘am I, my children and my grandchildren safer and likely to be better off in very large power blocs around Europe or isolated and alone in a world that is going to be rough and tough in the future?’ and the answer is yes, we are safer, and that is what has made me a supporter of the European Union, not the fiddling bureaucracies that so irritated us in the nooks and crannies of our life.

    NICK ROBINSON

    So if the current Prime Minister can get us a little closer, if not back in?

    SIR JOHN MAJOR

    No, you can’t get us back in now. I’d like to think we haven’t left, but we have left, and I do not think it is politically practicable to get back in immediately. But I do think we can get back in much closer and particularly into the Customs Union or the single market, because that is where we need to build. But we need to build first on the defence relationship. We need to work together in their interests and our interests, because we also have to strengthen NATO and our European neighbours are, of course, members of NATO themselves.

    NICK ROBINSON

    Now you were Prime Minister during another major anniversary, the 50th anniversary. Do you still have vivid memories of the people you met, the stories you heard?

    SIR JOHN MAJOR

    I do, in fact, of three anniversaries, the D-Day 50 year anniversary in 1994, and VE Day and VJ Day. I have memories of each of them and they’re very vivid. I mean, the first memories one has is of the people we met. We saw some of them earlier this week, being interviewed on television, much older now, but in many cases, quite remarkable. Over 100 talking about what they remembered, what they’d done, what they felt, how they thought they were in a justifiable fight against evil intentions. It was absolutely remarkable to hear them, and we honour them, and we should do.

    I think I’d make a further point, if I may. It was the People’s War in the sense that at home you had, apart from the armed forces themselves, you had at sea, you had the merchant navy, you had the Home Guard, you had the police service, the ambulance service, the fire service in particular, particularly in 1940 at the times of the Blitz. You had the Bevin boys who were digging out the precious coal we needed, you had the land girls who were digging out food. They were all part of our defence. We shouldn’t forget their part in the war as well.

    It revolutionised the lives of women. A lot had been done for that after the First World War, but after the Second World War, the things they did and the responsibilities they took changed the face of this country forever. We could never go back, and it was needs must and they rose to the challenge, and you saw the world change before our eyes in a very few years.

    NICK ROBINSON

    Sometimes when we think of veterans, we think of proud men and women, we think of their uniforms and their medals. We sometimes don’t think of the people who are not so visible, people who perhaps paid a price for what they went through. I think there was one man that you met all those years ago, a veteran who turned up at a commemoration.

    SIR JOHN MAJOR

    That was at Hyde Park, the VE Day commemoration in 1995, and that was presided over that particular event by the Queen Mother and Princess Margaret and it was a very strong security perimeter. A little elderly man, rather scruffily dressed as it happened, in curiously on a warm day wearing an old Mackintosh, tried to get in through the secure external security barrier and he was pushed back. He didn’t say much, he looked a bit taken aback, but he was pushed back and he was turning to go when someone with sharp eyes noticed something underneath his old raincoat. They looked at it and it was the Victoria Cross and he had come across half the world in order to be at that particular ceremony. As he put it to me, very sweetly, very charmingly, later, I came here to see my Queen. I had never forgotten that. Once we discovered who he was and where he had come from, he was moved from the perimeter and actually managed to get on the dais with some other Victoria Cross holders. He had a wonderful day and met many of the people he’d met before. But my blood still runs cold at the thought that a holder of the Victoria Cross could have been denied access after travelling halfway across the world and that is something I think I would never forget.

    I remember on D-Day, a very long day, we’d gone from England to France, I spent the morning looking at the cemetery in Bayeux, and then we went on to Arromanches, and we were standing on a platform with the Queen and Prince Philip and other people to the march past of the veterans. We thought it would take a reasonable time, and it did, and they were very elderly people, many of them bearing the scars of war. And they came on and on and on. The event had started a bit late, because one head of government was a touch late, as I recall, not ours. The tide started coming in and people were getting worried about the tide coming in, and still the march went on and on and on and on. An unending supply, infinitely more people from Britain and the Commonwealth than anyone had ever imagined would turn up. It was the most moving occasion, because every one of those people had been involved in action in the war at some stage, and it was quite extraordinary. You wondered at the thoughts that were in their mind, the memories that were there, the things they had done and the things they had seen, and the lives they had lived thereafter, and how they got over those experiences. It was a very, very moving occasion.

    NICK ROBINSON

    We are celebrating the end of the war in Europe, not the end of the Second World War. As of course, many people beyond Europe will know that anniversary, VJ Day has yet to come. But again, you were in office, you were Prime Minister on the 50th anniversary.

    SIR JOHN MAJOR

    Yes, I remember it very well. The predominant memory of that was sitting there waiting for the fly past up the Mall over Buckingham Palace and far away, led of course by a Lancaster, followed by a whole range of aircraft that I couldn’t identify then and can’t identify now, and of course, followed ultimately by the Red Arrows. But it was the Lancaster that sticks in my mind, because there was a long argument in a committee organising all this, upon which a member of my staff was involved about whether it would be a good idea for the Lancaster to drop poppies as it went down the Mall. For reasons that, to me, passed all understanding, the MOD was opposed to this and my member of staff wasn’t prepared to accept that. It was a fairly interesting argument, and eventually it was resolved in Number 10’s favour. It was decided the Lancaster would drop poppies, and it did. It was a very iconic, iconic is a word used far too often, but it was a genuinely iconic moment. There was one poppy dropped for every service man killed in the war, and it was really the most moving occasion. I know that members of the Royal Family who were sitting on the dais with me at the time, were as moved as I was by that. It was an unforgettable memory.

    NICK ROBINSON

    In conclusion, do you hope that people of whatever age will remember the commitment, the sacrifice that so many made?

    SIR JOHN MAJOR

    I hope we will continue for a long time to remember the anniversaries of what went on, because it does remind younger generations of what their predecessors did and we will never see another war fought in the same way. So it is a unique piece of history and I think if they remember what they did, they’re more likely to remember why they did it, and if they remember why they did it, then the way of life that offers freedom rather than restriction is enhanced, and the people who have a political philosophy that rely on restriction and thuggery, rather than the aggregation of freedom that we all wish to see will be put to one side. So I very much hope we can continue to do that

    The way in which Ukraine is finally treated, the extent to which we realise that Ukraine is not just fighting for Ukraine. Ukraine is fighting for the whole of Europe, including the United Kingdom, and they’re fighting for a form of freedom that we have been privileged to enjoy in our country for a long time and never wish to lose. We have our role to play in that war to ensure that that remains in Ukraine and in other countries as well.

    NICK ROBINSON

    Thank you for listening to the interview from the BBC World Service.

  • Sir John Major’s Interview on VE Day Anniversary – 8 May 2025

    The interview with Sir John Major broadcast on BBC Radio 4’s the Today Programme on 8 May 2025.

    NICK ROBINSON

    Our next guest is the last Prime Minister to have been born while the fighting was raging. He was Prime Minister when the country marked 50 years since VE Day. On the programme yesterday, we had President Biden, the last US president to have lived during the war who emphasised the need not just to remember on this day we celebrate the defeat of the Nazis in Europe, but to remember and learn, learn the lessons of history. Biden warned about the threat now to democracy, the risks of the absence of American leadership and what he called modern day appeasement.

    I have been speaking to Sir John Major about his reflections on this VE Day.

    SIR JOHN MAJOR

    I doubt we’re ever going to see anything quite like it again, because when we come to the natural next occasion, it will be 100 years, and sadly, the whole core of the occasion, which is the veterans, will no longer be with us. So I think it is a very unique occasion. I, of course, was only two when the war ended, and don’t have any direct memories of it, but I do recall my parents talking about it later and I recall one thing I think my mother said at the time, that VE Day must have been the most joyous day in the whole history of our country. I think that is probably true, and what people perhaps didn’t focus on then was what came after – the sheer change between before the war and after the war in the lives of so many families, the sheer difficulties that there were to face when you had a country that was all but bankrupt, if not actually bankrupt, where you had rationing on food still for another eight or nine years to come. People had no concept of how life would change and it was a very tough few years following VE Day.

    NICK ROBINSON

    Earlier this week, on the Today Programme, we presented the programme from Coventry, the city that suffered the most during the war. You, I imagine, want people to remember that as well as the victory.

    SIR JOHN MAJOR

    I do and for a very special reason. Coventry was bombed to non existence, it was a ruin and later, of course, we bombed Dresden in a similar fashion. The two sides of Dresden and Coventry have remained in very close touch ever since, but I still remember because I’d read about it years ago, of what the Provost of the Cathedral said at Christmas 1940, after the bombing. I paraphrase because it was part of the speech he made, but he essentially made three points. One, we do not seek vengeance for what happened, we do seek continued activity to make sure we act against the tyranny we have faced and, thirdly, that what we need to seek is a kinder and a simpler world at the end of this catastrophic war. I sometimes reflect upon that third point, we don’t really have a kinder and more sympathetic world than we did before. You think of some of the things we argue about and we discuss, it is totally out of kilter with those particular thoughts. I think there is a great deal of work to be done.

    NICK ROBINSON

    Given what you say, which is inevitably there will be fewer and fewer people with direct memories, do you fear that we as a country may forget the lessons? That we may forget what that generation grew up knowing?

    SIR JOHN MAJOR

    I think there’s a real risk of that. I mean, at the moment, people take democracy for granted. I don’t think it’s safe to do that. Democracy has been a retreat for the last 16, 17, 18 years in many parts of the world and we have some people running countries at the moment who are far from democratic, they’re tyrannical. I think the people faced by Hitler realised they were facing tyranny and they fought together in order to ensure that tyranny was defeated. But there is tyranny in different parts of the world and we have to be as strong and as resolute about it now as they were then. As far as democracy is concerned, we actually have sight in Ukraine of what an anti democracy led by a tyrannical leader is actually capable of doing, without purpose, without reason, without justification. They invade another country, are continually bombarding both the civilian population and the military establishments and also, unbelievably in this day, had people whose job it is to kidnap children from Ukraine and steal them away from their parents and into Russia. Now if that isn’t tyranny. I don’t know what is now

    NICK ROBINSON

    You were the Prime Minister during another major anniversary, the 50th anniversary. Do you still have vivid memories of the people you met, the stories you heard?

    SIR JOHN MAJOR

    I do and they’re very vivid. The first memories one has are of the people we met and we saw some of them earlier this week being interviewed on television, much older now, but in many cases, quite remarkable. Over 100, talking about what they remembered, what they’d done, what they felt, how they thought they were in a justifiable fight against evil intentions and and it was absolutely remarkable to hear them. We honour them and we should do.

    NICK ROBINSON

    Sometimes when we think of veterans, we think of proud men and women, we think of their uniforms and their medals. We sometimes don’t think of the people who are not so visible, people who perhaps paid a price for what they went through. I think there was one man that you met all those years ago, a veteran who turned up at a commemoration.

    SIR JOHN MAJOR

    That was at Hyde Park, the VE Day commemoration in 1995, and that was presided over that particular event by the Queen Mother and Princess Margaret and it was a very strong security perimeter. A little elderly man, rather scruffily dressed as it happened, in curiously on a warm day wearing an old Mackintosh, tried to get in through the secure external security barrier and he was pushed back. He didn’t say much, he looked a bit taken aback, but he was pushed back and he was turning to go when someone with sharp eyes noticed something underneath his old raincoat. They looked at it and it was the Victoria Cross and he had come across half the world in order to be at that particular ceremony. As he put it to me, very sweetly, very charmingly, later, I came here to see my Queen. I had never forgotten that. Once we discovered who he was and where he had come from, he was moved from the perimeter and actually managed to get on the dais with some other Victoria Cross holders. He had a wonderful day and met many of the people he’d met before. But my blood still runs cold at the thought that a holder of the Victoria Cross could have been denied access after travelling halfway across the world and that is something I think I would never forget.

    NICK ROBINSON

    Sir John Major with his reflections on VE Day.

  • Mr Major’s Comments on the VJ-Day Commemorations – 28 June 1995

    Below is the text of extracts of Mr Major’s comments on the planned August 1995 VJ-Day commemorations, made on 28th June 1995.

    PRIME MINISTER:

    I talk from time to time to veterans of the Far East campaigns, and when I do, I recognise that there is often a concern. A concern that perhaps the remarkable contributions they made are sometimes overlooked, perhaps forgotten. The forgotten fourteenth army or the forgotten Pacific fleet. By May 1945, the war in Europe was over, but for a further three months there were many thousands of British, Commonwealth and allied forces that fought on.

  • Mr Major’s Speech at Kremlin Banquet – 9 May 1995

    Below is the transcript of Mr Major’s speech at a banquet given by the Russian President at the Kremlin on 9th May 1995.

    PRIME MINISTER:

    Mr President,

    We have gathered here in Moscow today for the final European commemoration of the end of the War in Europe 50 years ago.

    The British people saw the war through from beginning to end – the commemorations across Britain on Sunday witnessed deep emotions.
    Our two countries’ shared endeavour during the war was exemplified in the Arctic convoys, as British forces from all the Services fought alongside their allies to sustain your war effort. The reunion of our veterans in Murmansk and Archangel will have been a moving occasion. In Western Europe the horrors of war gave way to reconciliation and co-operation. Yet Europe stayed divided for over four decades.

    Tonight in Moscow we bow our heads to those sacrifices 50 years ago. But we also rejoice that Europe is no longer divided; that a new democratic Russia is reclaiming its European identity; and that at last we are working together to realise the lost opportunities of 1945. This time we have to get it right.

    Mr President,

    May I propose a toast:

    To the memory of those who fell in war that our countries today might live together in peace.

  • Mr Major’s Speech at the Memorial Complex at Poklonnaya Gora – 9 May 1995

    Below is Mr Major’s speech at the opening of the Memorial Complex at Poklonnaya Gora on Tuesday 9th May 1995.

    PRIME MINISTER:

    Mr President,

    Fifty years ago in Berlin Marshal Zhukov and his British, American and French colleagues accepted the capitulation of the Nazi regime. The war in Europe was over.

    This new memorial complex reminds us of the losses of the Soviet peoples in that war. Their sacrifices were on a scale it is still hard to grasp today. The civilian losses in Leningrad alone exceeded the total British military losses for the whole war.

    The British poet W H Auden wrote:

    “To save your world you asked this man to die:

    Would this man, could he see you now, ask why?”

    I believe that he would not. All those sacrifices were worthwhile. He would understand.

    Mr President,

    Political leadership has passed to a generation too young to have fought in that war. We face instead the responsibility of peace. Having banished the divisions of the past, we must let not even the shadow of a new division fall across Europe. We need to forge a chain of new relationships binding us together in a durable peace. We together share a responsibility to spare our peoples the suffering of conflict, within as well as beyond our national borders.

    To this end we in Britain see a continuing need for relationships and institutions which have served us well. But other mechanisms will be needed too. Britain is looking for a complete system of partnerships in which partnership with Russia must be a central component.

    Mr President,

    Some 50 years ago, our countries came together in the common endeavour of war. 50 years later, our responsibility is to work together in a shared responsibility of peace. We work to shape the European institutions of the next century. To become partners in prosperity. And to build for the future a Europe free from hate and fear.

  • PMQT – 9 May 1995

    Below is the text of Prime Minister’s Question Time from 9th May 1995. Tony Newton responded on behalf of John Major.

    PRIME MINISTER:

     

    Engagements

    Q1. Mr. Jon Owen Jones: To ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Tuesday 9 May.

    The Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons (Mr. Tony Newton): I have been asked to reply.

    My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister is currently in Moscow on an official visit as part of the VE day commemorations.

    Mr. Jones: Does the Leader of the House have any sympathy for a perplexed and lonely young man, Mr. John Richards, the last remaining Tory councillor in Cardiff, who only eight years ago was part of a ruling group with more than 30 colleagues? While Mr. Richards looks around and tries to find out what has happened to his colleagues, how does the Leader of the House explain that calamity? Does he think that– [Interruption.]

    Madam Speaker: Order.

    Mr. Jones: Does he think that on Thursday, the electorate showed that they have the same opinion of the Government as Will Carling has of the Rugby Football Union?

    Mr. Newton: My sympathy is with the people of Cardiff for what is about to be inflicted on them.

    Mr. Hunter: Bearing in mind the commemorative theme of the past few days, and in anticipation of the Government’s meeting tomorrow with Sinn Fein, will my right hon. Friend reassert that the Government will not bow to the IRA, will never surrender to IRA tyranny and will never seek appeasement with the evil of the IRA, but will remain resolute and resist all that Sinn Fein-IRA has stood for over the years?

    Mr. Newton: I can certainly give my hon. Friend the assurance he seeks. As he will know, it has repeatedly been made clear that we were not prepared to agree to Ministers joining the exploratory talks with Sinn Fein until it accepted that position and the need for a serious dialogue about decommissioning.

    Mr. Prescott: Does the right hon. Gentleman accept that Thursday’s local elections were a disaster for the Tories and a triumph for Labour? Does he agree with his right hon. Friend the Member for Brent, North (Sir R. Boyson), that the Government should stop lecturing and start listening to the British people, beginning tomorrow with the London hospital debate?

    Mr. Newton: The best thing that I can say to the right hon. Gentleman is that I have been studying with interest a report in The Guardian of 6 May under the heading,

    “Record haul of seats for reborn left”,

    which is followed by a quotation by the then Leader of the Opposition claiming that it shows the result of the next general election. That was in 1990.

    Mr. Prescott: The House will note that the right hon. Gentleman avoided the question on the London hospitals. Is not the simple truth that, 50 years ago, the Tories voted against the creation of Labour’s national health service and that, in the past five years, they have closed more than 300 hospitals and will vote tomorrow to close some more? Is not that why one can never trust the Tories when they say that the national health service is safe in their hands?

    Mr. Newton: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health will set out very clearly in tomorrow’s debate a policy, the purpose of which is to create a modern pattern of hospital and primary care provision in London. That is what it will do. As to capital schemes, I remind the right hon. Gentleman that, since 1980, more than 800 schemes, each worth £1 million or more, have been completed. That is roughly one a week. At present, there are more than 300 such schemes at the planning, design or construction stage, and that is the biggest sustained hospital and health service development programme in our history.

     

    Q2. Mr. Congdon: To ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Tuesday 9 May.

    Mr. Newton: I have been asked to reply.

    I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave some moments ago.

    Mr. Congdon: Does my right hon. Friend agree that the imposition of a national minimum wage would destroy jobs? Is it not an act of political cowardice to talk about bringing in a minimum wage while not having the courage to specify its level?

    Mr. Newton: I very much agree with my hon. Friend. I think that it was the right hon. Member for Kingston upon Hull, East (Mr. Prescott) who acknowledged that a minimum wage would destroy jobs. Although that has been acknowledged, no figure has been given. All we know is that jobs would be destroyed, and it is time that the Opposition told us how many.

    Sir David Steel: The Leader of the House is a regular tourist in Scotland. Therefore, will he welcome as much as we do this morning’s decision by the Court of Session in Edinburgh that British Rail cannot axe its services at the end of May without going through the full consultation procedure? Will he make sure that Government money is there to maintain those services?

    Mr. Newton: The right hon. Gentleman rather exaggerates my activities as a tourist in Scotland, although I recall meeting him at a fete in his constituency a couple of years ago. I understand that an application for judicial review has been heard and that the court has ruled that British Rail may not withdraw the service until the statutory closure procedure has been completed. It is for the British Railways Board and ScotRail to consider what action to take in the light of the full written judgement, and it would not be right for me to comment further at this stage.

     

    Q3. Mrs. Peacock: To ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Tuesday 9 May.

    Mr. Newton: I have been asked to reply.

    I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave some moments ago.

    Mrs. Peacock: Will my right hon. Friend join me in sending thanks to Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother for her role 50 years ago in supporting King George during the dark and difficult days of the war? Will he also join me in warmly thanking her for her tremendous support and activity during the VE celebrations over the weekend?

    Mr. Newton: My hon. Friend speaks for the whole House. Over the weekend there has been an outstandingly successful series of events of remembrance, reconciliation and hope for the future. They reminded us of the contribution that was made by our service men and service women and many civilians to the effort of 50 years ago. As my hon. Friend says, it has reminded us not least of the contribution that was made by the late King and Her Majesty the Queen Mother during the war and by Her Majesty the Queen over so many years since then.

     

    Q4. Mr. Wilson: To ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Tuesday 9 May.

    Mr. Newton: I have been asked to reply.

    I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave some moments ago.

    Mr. Wilson: Since the threat to overnight rail services between Scotland and England arises directly from Government policies, many of us think that it is precisely for the Leader of the House to answer in respect of what happened in the Court of Session this morning. What does it tell us about this Government that the Secretary of State for Scotland and the Secretary of State for Transport were both prepared to conspire in a deceit that has been found to be illegal as well as immoral?

    Will the Leader of the House give an undertaking that the letter and the spirit of today’s judgment will be respected by the Government? Does he accept that this excellent decision will give fresh heart to campaigners throughout the country, who see similar threats to their vulnerable services in what the Government are doing to the railway industry?

    Mr. Newton: As I have already said, it is now obviously right for the terms of the judgment to be properly and carefully considered, but I also remind the hon. Gentleman that the decision to withdraw this service was a commercial matter for British Rail, and that representations, of a kind to which he will no doubt wish to contribute, about all sleeper services can be made when the Franchising Director consults on the passenger service requirement later this month.

    Mr. Streeter: Will my hon. Friend join me in congratulating the French people, who on Sunday rejected socialism and elected a right-wing President? Does not that show– [Interruption.]

    Madam Speaker: Order. The hon. Gentleman must be heard.

    Mr. Streeter: On Sunday, the French people rejected socialism and elected a right-wing President. Does not that show that all over Europe people recognise that, while left-wing politicians offer sound bites, Conservative policies work?

    Mr. Newton: I certainly wish to welcome the election of the new President, and I think everyone would wish to send him this country’s good wishes in his new job. My hon. Friend is right to say that one of the factors in that election will have been the extent to which socialist policies are coming under criticism throughout Europe. Indeed, the French Employers’ Federation has said:

    “the excessive level and poor structure of taxes on business add to production costs, slowing down investment and job creation.” It is exactly the policies that have now been rejected in France that right hon. and hon. Labour Members would now want to impose on Britain.

     

    Q5. Mr. Jamieson: To ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Tuesday 9 May.

    Mr. Newton: I have been asked to reply.

    I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave some moments ago.

    Mr. Jamieson: Is the Leader of the House aware that, following last Thursday’s meltdown of Tory support in the south-west, particularly in the constituency of the hon. Member for Plymouth, Sutton (Mr. Streeter), 55 out of 60 councillors on Plymouth city council are Labour members, and the only bodies that the Conservatives control in the region are the quangos? Is not the message from last Thursday’s elections that there is now an unbridgeable gap between the electorate and the Government? The only way in which that can be bridged is by having a general election.

    Mr. Newton: Earlier, I extended my sympathy to the people of Cardiff; I will now extend my sympathy to the people of Plymouth.

     

    Ministerial Visits

    Q6. Mr. Simon Coombs: To ask the Prime Minister if he will pay an official visit to Swindon.

    Mr. Newton: I have been asked to reply.

    My right hon. Friend has no current plans to do so.

    Mr. Coombs: Does my right hon. Friend agree that companies in Swindon and elsewhere would rather stick with a Government who have firmly rejected the concept of a national minimum wage than run the risk of supporting a party that might introduce a national minimum wage at a level so low that it would be meaningless, or at a level that would imperil employment and run the risk of reducing companies’ investment in training?

    Mr. Newton: I agree with my hon. Friend that the people of Swindon and, no doubt, the people of every town in the country would not wish to go down a path that will undermine employment, heap new costs on business, undermine the economic recovery, undermine our capacity to attract overseas investment, and undermine our ability to defend Britain’s interests in Europe.

    Mr. Pike: As the Leader of the House’s job includes presentation of Government policy to the people of Swindon– [Interruption.] Ah, I know, Madam Speaker–

    Madam Speaker: Order. The hon. Member for Swindon (Mr. Coombs) widened the question, but I do not want questioning to go too wide.

    Mr. Pike: As it is the right hon. Gentleman’s job to present Government policy, does he accept that either his presentation has failed or the policy has failed? Will he tell the people of Swindon what change of policy he now proposes–or does he intend to go?

    Mr. Newton: I would tell the people of Swindon–and, indeed, those represented by the hon. Member for Burnley (Mr. Pike)–that, when unemployment is falling by 1,000 a day, when we are enjoying the most sustained period of low inflation for more than 30 years, when export volumes have risen by 12.5 per cent. in a year and when for two successive years ours has been the fastest-growing major European Union economy, one thing is certain: the policies are succeeding.

     

    Engagements

    Q7. Mr. Waterson: To ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Tuesday 9 May.

    Mr. Newton: I have been asked to reply.

    I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave some moments ago.

    Mr. Waterson: Does my right hon. Friend agree that the VE day commemorations throughout the country at the weekend were extremely moving? Does he also agree that we have had 50 years of peace in Europe because this country has maintained strong defences, and has refused to listen to the voices of Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament members and sympathisers in the Labour party?

    Mr. Newton: I agree with my hon. Friend on both counts. As I said earlier, the celebrations themselves were an outstanding and impressive success; and there is no doubt that the fact that we were able to have them rests on the firmness of this country’s defence policy over the years–a policy that has frequently not been supported by the Labour party.

  • Mr Major’s Speech at VE Day Commemorations – 6 May 1995

    Below is Mr Major’s speech at the 50th anniversary of VE Day Commemorations at the opening ceremony at Hyde Park on Saturday 6th May 1995.

    PRIME MINISTER:

    Your Majesty, your Royal Highness, Ladies and Gentlemen.

    Fifty years ago today, Europe was still at war. For many servicemen, it remained a time of danger and hardship. War continued to rage in the Far East. As one eyewitness to the celebrations on VE night said: “for me, as for tens of thousands of others, the war started again at the end of leave”.

    But here in London that weekend there was a great sense of expectation. Outside St Paul’s, as bell ringers stood ready to start the peal of thanksgiving, the crowds gathered spontaneously.

    Today, fifty years on, as we commemorate those events, our thoughts are of thanksgiving and remembrance.

    There is much to remember:

    – those who were lost,

    – those who returned wounded,

    – those who were scarred by years of captivity,

    – those whose lives were irreparably changed by loss.

    But for many, there was the sheer joy of reunion, as our servicemen and women came home.

    Today, above all, we give thanks for the quiet bravery and decency of those men and women who defeated a tyranny beyond imagination, and in so doing, enabled future generations to enjoy the blessings of freedom, democracy and peace.

    It is very easy to take these for granted. When we have them, they sound like comfortable abstractions. But when you have to fight to regain them, as so many did, they become very real.

    At the end of the war, there was a famous cartoon. It was an illustration of a wounded soldier, standing amid the rubble of war, holding out the laurel leaves of peace in Europe, saying “here you are, don’t lose it again”. In that single picture were the hopes of millions.

    The responsibility for us, who have grown up since the war, is not to forget that plea. It is our responsibility to keep faith with those who fought to prevent future wars.

    The institutions which have grown up since 1945 – the United Nations, NATO and others – may be imperfect. Conflict still erupts around the globe. But they represent a consistent effort to find a better way to resolve disputes than by war. An effort to build on a common faith in democracy and freedom.

    Tomorrow, in St Paul’s, leaders of countries which fought so bitterly in Europe will join with Second World War veterans to reaffirm that faith, in a service of reconciliation.

    The Veterans have a special place in these commemorations. But it is right that the whole nation should join in. The war was a national struggle in which everyone played their part.

    The Merchant Navy was our lifeline to the outside world. The Bevin Boys, the Women’s Land Army, and many who had never been in a factory before, kept wartime production going. The emergency services mobilised to fight the Blitz. Thousands opened their homes to children evacuated from the cities.

    Sometimes, those who speak of the wartime sense of community go on to say it couldn’t happen now. I don’t believe that. In the lesser conflicts of the Falklands and the Gulf the same national spirit was evident. This country hasn’t changed. Nor have its instincts.

    This weekend, all over the country, people are taking part in local commemorations and events to mark VE Day.

  • Mr Major’s Commons Statement on the Anniversary of WWII End – 25 April 1995

    Below is the text of Mr Major’s Commons statement marking the 50th anniversary since the end of World War Two, made on the 25th April 1995.

    PRIME MINISTER:

    The Prime Minister (Mr. John Major): I beg to move,

    That an humble Address be presented to Her Majesty, as follows: Most Gracious Sovereign,

    We, Your Majesty’s most dutiful and loyal subjects, the Commons of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, in Parliament assembled, recalling the humble Addresses presented to His Majesty King George VI on the 17th May and 21st August 1945, beg leave to express to Your Majesty our joy in commemorating the fiftieth anniversary of the end of the Second World War and of the defeat of the forces of evil which it brought, our thanks for the fortitude of the men and women who served with the armed forces or who participated in the war effort in civilian life between 1939 and 1945, our recognition of the sacrifice made on behalf of future generations by those who died or who were disabled in their country’s service, and our desire that the constructive work of peace for which our predecessors in 1945 prayed may continue and grow in the years to come.

    It has long been a tradition of the House that we mark significant national events by presenting a humble Address to the sovereign. That was the case in May 1945 when Mr. Winston Churchill moved the motion for such an Address to be presented to His Majesty King George VI. The motion on that occasion expressed the gratitude of the nation for the end of the war in Europe, together with a wish to see a speedy conclusion to the war in the east. That wish was met; just three months later the House was able to present another humble Address to His Majesty after the successful conclusion of the war against Japan.

    Throughout the war, the royal family symbolised the unity of the nation and of the Commonwealth, and the willingness to make whatever sacrifices were necessary to ensure victory and the preservation of a free way of life. When Britain stood alone, the courage and determination of the King and Queen offered strength to the British people and to countless millions of people beyond our shores. It is no surprise that Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother continues to hold such a special place in the affections of the British people. Many remember, and countless millions who were not alive at the time know, the fortitude and resilience that she and the King displayed throughout the war. The then Princess Elizabeth–a teenager when the war began, now Her Majesty the Queen–played her full part in furthering the war effort, and Her Majesty has continued to set an example of duty and service to the nation and to the Commonwealth throughout the 50 years since then.

    The commemoration of the end of the war is not a triumphalist occasion, but an occasion to pay proper tribute to the millions of brave men and women whose lives were cruelly, often tragically, disrupted by the demands of the war that had to be won.

    Last year marked the 50th anniversary of the Normandy landings. Everyone who took part in the commemorative events was profoundly moved by them. I, for one, will long remember the march-past of the veterans on the sands of Arromanches. There were thousands upon thousands of them–brave men and women in their 70s and 80s now, often with a chestful of medals and a mind full of memories, some with sticks, some pushed in wheelchairs, some limping, some walking, some marching, but all moving with pride before the Queen, and with their memories of their service to their nation in the last war.

    As the House will know, a number of events are planned to commemorate the 50th anniversary of VE day next month and of VJ day in August. It is appropriate that the prelude to those events should be the parliamentary occasion of presenting a humble Address to the Queen.

    Here in the Chamber we have a constant reminder of those days 50 years ago. The Churchill Arch, at the entrance from the Members’ Lobby, was rebuilt from the original, damaged in the bombing raids of 1941. It poignantly recalls how even the mother of Parliaments made its sacrifice. As Churchill himself said, all of us present here today, who are uniquely privileged to pass through that Arch, should

    “look back from time to time upon their forbears who kept the bridge In the brave days of old.’”–[ Official Report , 25 January 1945; Vol. 407, c. 1006.]

    As our Parliament sat through the war it symbolised the dogged determination of democracy; a determination to overcome tyranny and dictatorship that was shared by countless millions throughout the world. For the price of sacrifice was paid here, too. Twenty-two Members of the House–together with 35 Members of the House of Lords and five members of staff of both Houses–were killed during the war. Eighteen present Members of the House also saw active service in the war and some, perhaps all, are present here in the Chamber on this occasion. Many others now sit along the Corridor in the other place. For them, the commemorations will hold special memories; and to them, we–who inherit the parliamentary freedom that they helped protect–owe special thanks.

    When His Majesty King George VI replied to the humble Address 50 years ago, he said:

    “It is My most fervent hope that we are entering upon an age of peaceful progress, wherein the natural talent and enterprise of My peoples can be devoted to the advancement of the happiness and prosperity of mankind.”– [ Official Report , 21 August 1945; Vol. 413, c. 417.]

    Looking back over the past 50 years, we can see that many of the hopes for peace and reconciliation have been rewarded, but we have not banished conflict and terror throughout the globe. We have troops on peacekeeping and humanitarian duties in many countries. In recent days, there has been the tragic bomb attack in Oklahoma. This House has had direct experience of terrorist attacks, and several hon. Members have been the victims of terrorists.

    The successful outcome of the second world war showed the importance of a determined and united effort to defeat military aggression. As we look ahead, we must exercise the same determination as was shown then, to counter the threat from terrorism, not only in the United Kingdom but throughout the world.

    Madam Speaker, this is an occasion to look both back and forward. The perils of the last war dwarf the petty rancours of everyday politics today. I believe that our country has many reasons to look forward with hope to the future. I believe that, as we do so, it is right that we should look back thankfully to the sacrifices of the past. The whole House, the whole nation, the whole Commonwealth, will wish to remember and give thanks.

  • PMQT – 7 March 1995

    Below is the text of Prime Minister’s Question Time from 7th March 1995.

    PRIME MINISTER:

     

    Engagements

    Q2. Mr. Ottaway: To ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Tuesday 7 March.

    The Prime Minister (Mr. John Major): This morning I had meetings with ministerial colleagues and others. In addition to my duties in this House, I shall be having further meetings later today.

    Mr. Ottaway: Does my right hon. Friend agree that his Government’s policies have done much to help the leisure industry in this country? So much so– [Interruption.]

    Madam Speaker: Order. The House must come to order.

    Mr. Hoyle: Sit down.

    Madam Speaker: Who are you telling to sit down? Be careful.

    Mr. Hoyle: I am telling the hon. Member for Croydon, South (Mr. Ottaway) to sit down; I am trying to be helpful.

    Mr. Ottaway: Does my right hon. Friend agree that his Government have done much to help the leisure industry in this country–so much so, that Ladbroke leisure group has been able to award 1.2 million share options to its directors? Is my right hon. Friend aware that a member of the remuneration committee who approved that share option scheme is also Chairman of the Employment Select Committee?

    The Prime Minister: As I said to the House last week, the Greenbury committee is examining executives’ remuneration. A number of important issues must be addressed, especially the disclosure of remuneration to directors and ensuring that bonuses and share options reflect the performance of a company. I am sure that practical, first-hand advice of that sort will be useful to every hon. Member. Mr. Blair rose —

    Madam Speaker: Order. I must say to hon. Members that I have taken a Minister to task for less than that; I will not allow Back Benchers to hold up newspaper headlines.

    Mr. Blair: Now that the electricity regulator has finally bowed to months of pressure and has cut prices because of excess profits, will the Prime Minister agree that there should be a thorough overhaul of the regulatory regime of all utilities so that we can be sure that the same thing is not happening in gas, water and in the other privatised monopolies?

    The Prime Minister: As I understand the position, the regulator has decided to have a look at the prices charged by regional electricity companies to consumers. That shows that the regulatory system that the House approved is working and that the regulator is using his powers to act in the light of the information available. I think that the action of the Director General of Electric Supply does exactly that. It shows that he can take into account the latest information. Information has become available since his last review. He is now looking at it again. That shows that the system is flexible and is working.

    Mr. Blair: Surely it shows precisely the opposite. Is not the point that the electricity regulator acted only after the Trafalgar House bid for Northern Electric exposed the full scale of the excess profits and because of public pressure, not his own internal investigations? Does that not strengthen the case for a review of the system to make sure that the same abuses are not happening in gas and water?

    The Prime Minister: No, I think that the right hon. Gentleman has not taken the point fully on board. He cannot claim at one moment that the regulator has too few powers and a few moments later complain that he is using his powers to deal with the situation that has arisen. New circumstances have arisen in the regulator’s mind, and the regulator has used his independent powers to look again at the question of pricing. Those are precisely the powers the House required him to have and he is now using them.

    Mr. Blair: The information became available not because of the regulatory system but because of the external requirements after the bid. Does the Prime Minister not understand that unless he acts firmly to stop the abuses in the privatised utilities–whether they are the pay deals, the overcharging or the excess profits–they will stand as a visible symbol of everything that is rotten in a Conservative Government?

    The Prime Minister: I know that the right hon. Gentleman has now managed to unleash his soundbite, but what he is actually proposing would not enlarge but would narrow the authority and options of the regulator. The fact that this arose out of something that the regulator did not determine shows how wide his powers are. That is the point. The right hon. Gentleman is saying that the regulator should have acted only if he himself had discovered precisely what was likely to happen.

    Sir Peter Hordern: Will my right hon. Friend make it his first priority to travel the country and start a national debate on the importance of the common ownership of the means of production, distribution and exchange? Is it not extraordinary that a major political party should spend so much time on clause IV and does it not prove–

    Madam Speaker: Order. As I am sure the right hon. Gentleman knows, the Prime Minister has no responsibility for that matter. He is, no doubt, coming to a question for which the Prime Minister has responsibility.

    Sir Peter Hordern: Will my right hon. Friend consider travelling the country to establish whether there should be common ownership of the means of production, distribution and exchange?

    The Prime Minister: I think the evidence of the past two or three decades will spare me the necessity of travelling the country on that point because very few people who have sensibly looked at the matter do not believe that the right hon. Member for Sedgefield (Mr. Blair) is right to seek the abolition of a dinosaur that most sensible people realise has been dead for the past 20 or 30 years. The only surprise is that a substantial number in the right hon. Gentleman’s party still do not understand that.

    Mr. Ashdown: How does the Prime Minister justify the fact that, contrary to the specific recommendations of his own personal efficiency unit, the amount of public money that the Government spend on private consultants has now increased by £130 million to £865 million– sufficient to provide every child in the country with a year of pre-school education? How can the Prime Minister expect parents, teachers and governors to cut, cut, cut, when the Government’s record is spend, spend, spend?

    The Prime Minister: The right hon. Gentleman did not address the savings and improvements brought about by the activities of consultants. All that concerns him is making a spurious point that would have been better made about his own Liberal Democrat-controlled county council in Somerset. If the right hon. Gentleman looks at the record on consultancies, he will find that one costing £50,000 yielded savings of tens of millions of pounds for the taxpayer.

    Mr. Rowe: Did my right hon. Friend note that in the recent debate on utilities many Opposition Members were keen to see utilities restored to the public sector? Is not it an extraordinary definition of monopoly to imagine that in a world in which foreign companies compete globally with our former public utilities, we should not stimulate competitiveness across the world?

    The Prime Minister: Opposition Members may still relish the day when it cost the taxpayer £50 million a week to subsidise utilities so that Ministers could run them inefficiently. These days, those utilities are yielding about the same amount of money each day for the taxpayer. Many utilities are selling their services and expertise abroad to great effect, generating from overseas activities huge sums of money for this country.

     

    Q3. Mr. Rooney: To ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Tuesday 7 March.

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

    Mr. Rooney: It is three and a half years since Operation 2000 was launched. Is the Prime Minister aware that today fewer than 4 per cent. of directors and fewer than 3 per cent. of senior managers are women? Does he consider Operation 2000 a success?

    The Prime Minister: When my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster speaks in this afternoon’s debate, the hon. Gentleman will appreciate the improved opportunities for women across a range of circumstances–not least in public appointments for which the Government are directly responsible, where there has been a dramatic improvement. I agree with the hon. Gentleman that there is some way to go, but a significant improvement has been made in recent years, and I look forward to that continuing.

    Mr. Clifton-Brown: Has my right hon. Friend had a chance to read the document published by the Department of National Heritage last week, “Tourism: Competing with the Best”? It states that tourism could be the largest single issue by the year 2000. Tourism currently employs 1.5 million people, but the report makes it clear that we could do better. Does my right hon. Friend agree that tourism should have higher priority and that a single body should be responsible for encouraging inward tourism?

    The Prime Minister: I should like to reflect with greater care on my hon. Friend’s last point because of regional disparities in tourism in Scotland, Wales, the west country and elsewhere. My hon. Friend is right about tourism’s importance and the number of people that it employs. In some parts of the United Kingdom–not least, most recently, Northern Ireland–increased tourism is making a material improvement to the local economy.

     

    Q4. Mr. Burden: To ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Tuesday 7 March.

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

    Mr. Burden: Does the Prime Minister recall specifically ruling out three months ago Government action on executive salaries on the ground that it would constitute–I believe that I quote the right hon. Gentleman correctly–“a pay policy for a small number of key executives”? In the light of the right hon. Gentleman’s statement to the House last week, does he think that is a policy or is not a policy–or, as usual, does he not know?

    The Prime Minister: I do not know whether you, Madam Speaker, would like to let the hon. Gentleman try again, so that he may get his question right. Only one side of the House wants a pay policy for top executives. Labour wants a pay policy for people at the top–a maximum wage at the top, and a maximum wage at the bottom because then it would have the justification for a pay policy right the way down British industry. I am seeking to cope with abuses where they occur. If the hon. Gentleman had read what I said last week, he would understand that.

     

    Q5. Mr. John Marshall: To ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Tuesday 7 March.

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

    Mr. Marshall: Does my right hon. Friend agree that education provides an escalator of opportunity for all children? Does he believe that choice and standards would benefit from the abolition of grammar schools, grant-maintained schools and city technology colleges, all of which are popular? Would not the abolition of grant-maintained schools be particularly harsh on parents who prefer them to schools run by local education authorities, especially in Islington?

    The Prime Minister: I certainly agree with my hon. Friend that education is one of the areas that gives the greatest opportunity to people. The reforms that we have introduced in recent years extend choice, create a diverse education system and aim to give the best possible education to every child. It is for that reason that we have made reforms right the way through the education system–reforms that have been welcomed by parents and schoolteachers and, increasingly, are welcomed and used by hon. Members in every part of the House.

     

    Q6. Mr. Tony Lloyd: To ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Tuesday 7 March.

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

    Mr. Lloyd: During this, the 50th anniversary of the ending of the war, will the Prime Minister today give some consideration to that generation who were prepared to fight and, in many cases, made considerable personal sacrifices in forced labour camps, for example, in Europe and elsewhere? Is the Prime Minister of the view that it is a fitting reward for that generation that they now spend their lives in poverty as pensioners under the Government?

    The Prime Minister: The hon. Gentleman knows the respect that everyone in Britain has for the generation who fought in the war. He will also know what has been done, not just in the past few years but during the past couple of generations, to ensure that their living standards are as high as can possibly be the case.

    An hon. Member: Not successful.

    The Prime Minister: The hon. Gentleman says, “Not successful.” Perhaps he would like to reflect on the number of improvements that we made in 1979 that had not been introduced by the previous Labour Government.

  • Mr Major’s Press Conference on VE/VJ Day Commemorations – 11 January 1995

    Below is the transcript of Mr Major’s press conference, with Viscount Cranborne, given in London on Wednesday 11th January 1995 regarding the Government’s plans for the VE Day and VJ Day Commemorations.

    VISCOUNT CRANBORNE:

    Good morning, Prime Minister, Good Morning Ladies and Gentlemen. My name is Robert Cranborne, I am the Chairman of the Steering Group which is coordinating the commemorations for the end of the war – VE Day and VJ Day. I would like to thank you very much, Prime Minister, for coming here this morning and for launching the programme which we have in mind for this summer in May and in August.

    PRIME MINISTER:

    Robert, thank you very much indeed. Perhaps firstly I might thank you all for being here this morning to launch what I think is going to be a very remarkable commemoration.

    This year is the 50th anniversary of the Second World War, the most devastating war in history, the cause I think well known to all of us – Nazism in Europe and militarism in Japan. And perhaps as much as any war in history, this was a people’s war against tyranny, its impact was made ever more devastating by the use of modern technology. Untold millions of people died in that war, servicemen and civilians alike. Some of mankind’s greatest aesthetic achievements were destroyed and tragically, even at the moment of liberation, millions of people were enslaved again.

    But of course in the end the tyranny lost, those who remained enslaved for four decades after 1945 now have their freedom. It was for them a long and painful wait. But they would not have obtained that freedom at all if the Allies had not won that war in 1945, liberty would not have been possible today in Eastern Europe, nor frankly, if we had lost, would we have had liberty in Western Europe either.

    It is for those reasons and many others, familiar I think to everyone in this room today, that it is absolutely right to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the end of the War.

    Our commemorations are going to focus on two of the most significant dates this century, VE Day when the fighting ended in Europe, and VJ Day when the war as a whole came to a close.

    We have considered and consulted very carefully about how best to commemorate these great events. We rested very heavily on the advice and the guidance of the Veterans organisations who perhaps best represent the men and the women who fought in those wars and who won them. And I am delighted that we have with us today Lord Slim, whose father commanded the 14th Army in Burma, and Field Marshal Lord Bramall who fought himself as a young officer in the Normandy campaign.

    Let me turn directly now to the two specific anniversaries. The anniversary of VE Day will be marked, across the nation, over the weekend of 6-8 May. The theme is reconciliation, a celebration of 50 years peace in Europe and hope for the future. Above all, the expectations that the young people of all nations will continue to live in a peaceful Europe as this century draws to a close and as we prepare for the next Millennium.

    Commemorative events will be held right around the country. In London, the focal point will be events in Hyde Park which will bring together veterans, families, young people and the leaders or representatives of all the countries that played a significant part of the war in Europe. They will join in a national and international celebration of the peace which we so dearly cherish in this country.

    In addition, Her Majesty the Queen will attend a Service of Remembrance at St Paul’s and host a lunch at Buckingham Palace in honour of Heads of State and other representatives.

    The VJ commemorations in August will have quite a different theme. They will provide the opportunity for the nation and the Commonwealth to give thanks for the end of the war and to remember solemnly the sacrifices of the war-time generations. First and foremost we will pay tribute to the veterans of these islands and the Commonwealth. But the Second World War of course was total war, the entire nation was mobilised, not just the men and women in uniform. So we will remember also the wider contribution of the Merchant Navy, the landgirls, the Bevan boys, the ambulance and fire services, and many more, all of whom in their separate ways, through their own efforts and their own determination, played a vital part in winning the war.

    Events to mark VJ Day will include a Service of Remembrance at Buckingham Palace, including a march of veterans who served with Commonwealth forces. Our five years of World War II commemorations will end on a solemn note on the evening of 20 August when a Beating Retreat and Sunset Ceremonies will be held in London, in Edinburgh, in Belfast and in Cardiff.

    In a few moments the Field Marshal will no doubt wish to remind you of the companionship and the caring which the Royal British Legion and other veterans organisations and charities provide, and I would certainly wish to share in his appreciation of their remarkable work over so many years.

    Later this month will see the launch of the Tribute and Promise Campaign. The tribute reflects the nation’s gratitude and our acknowledgement of the debt that we owe to our veterans’ sacrifices. The promise is a reaffirmation by the voluntary organisations that the caring and the companionship will not end when the commemorations end. I welcome the objectives of the campaign and I am delighted that they will take a prominent part in the open air service outside Buckingham Palace on 19 August.

    Our commemorations to mark the 50th anniversary of the end of the war will give the nation the opportunity to remember the actions and the sacrifices of those who won the war. The best way to keep pace with them is I believe, as the Queen said in her Christmas broadcast, to resolve to cherish our liberty, to be considerate to our neighbours, be friends with people of different races and religions, and to recognise our faults before we criticise others.

    We all have a responsibility to honour the peace these commemorations mark. I hope that we can all work together towards making them a success. I hope that you all have the full details of the commemoration in your packs. I would like in a few moments to invite Lord Bramall to say a few words on behalf of the veterans’ organisations. And then, unless Robert Cranborne, who is leading the overall steering committee would like to add anything further, we will seek to take your questions.

    Let me just add a final point. I believe these commemorations are not just a casual event. These commemorations actually mark one of the most remarkable events in the whole history, not just of this island race, but of the world as a whole. If it had not been for the events marked by these commemorations this year, you and I would not be sitting here today, we would not have the sort of country that we have today, we would not have the nature of Europe that we have today and I doubt very much that we would have the peaceful nature of the world at large that we can see in so much of the globe at present.

    That was what was at stake in the 1939-1945 war, that was what was won for us by the people who directed that war, who fought in that war and who won that war. I have not a shred of doubt that it is not only our privilege, but our responsibility, to mark those remarkable events with the commemorations that we will hold this spring and in August.

     

    QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS:

    JOHN SMITH (UK NEWS):

    Could the Prime Minister tell us what consultations took place with the governments of Germany and Japan concerning the tone of the celebrations and commemorations that he has outlined and also if their heads of government and veterans organisations have been invited to play any part?

    PRIME MINISTER:

    We have discussed our plans with a lot of nations, we have certainly discussed them with the Japanese and we have discussed them with the Germans and they are content with the plans that we have in mind. Detailed planning beyond that has been dealt with here in this country with the degree of consultation that I referred to earlier and that Lord Bramall mentioned as well, but yes, there has been consultation with both the nations you mentioned.

    QUESTION (POLISH NATIONAL PARTY):

    Prime Minister, is there going to be any mention throughout the celebrations about the Polish General [inaudible] who recently died in Edinburgh and who contributed to the Second World War victory without dispute?

    PRIME MINISTER:

    I think I will ask Robert to respond to that. I am surrounded on this platform – and indeed in the rows immediately ahead of me – by those people who spent not many hours but literally days and weeks working on the details so I am extremely well-served on this occasion and I think I will invite Robert to respond to you.

    VISCOUNT CRANBORNE:

    May I make a general point about the Polish contribution to the Second World War? I have personal links with Poland which go back to the earliest years of my childhood. I was brought up on the dramatic story of Polish heroism in 1939 but perhaps above all on the debt of gratitude that we the British people owe the Polish people. I suspect that it would have been very difficult for us to have won the Battle of Britain without the contribution of Polish pilots and indeed pilots of other nationalities, including Czechs and Americans and it is extremely important to us that the Poles perhaps above all, as one of the principal victim nations of the 1940s, should be in a position to receive the gratitude of this country and that includes not only those who have survived but perhaps more important, those who died whether as military men or indeed in the concentration camps of Europe so I hope that that is a message that you will be able to take back to Poland and that the Polish people will be aware of the gratitude of the British people and we are aware of the debt that we owe them.

    PRIME MINISTER:

    Can I add a further point to that about Poland? I had the pleasure and privilege last year of attending the commemoration of the Warsaw uprising, a remarkable evening in Poland attended by the President of Germany and the heads of a lot of other governments as well and I suppose one of the most tangible successes you can see of the last fifty years and why reconciliation is such an apt theme for us this year is that even as we speak today Poland are applying to join the European Union and the two principal supporters of Poland joining the European Union as soon as it practical are the governments of the United Kingdom and of Germany and I think that is a very practical illustration of the way in which reconciliation is working not just in terms of commemoration vital and necessary though that is, but also in terms of the practical changes we are seeing on the continent of Europe that could not have occurred but for the success of the Allies in the War.

    JONATHAN MARCUS (BBC WORLD SERVICE):

    Prime Minister, you answered the question about the contacts with the German and Japanese authorities, you have said that they were happy with the nature of the celebrations that were taking place. I think there is some difference in the nature of the presence and representation at the various celebrations from Japan and Germany and could you outline why there is that difference?

    PRIME MINISTER:

    VE-Day relates specifically to the European theatre and we are inviting to the VE-commemorations over fifty heads of state or government or their representatives of all those nations that participated significantly in the European theatres of war; attending also will be ambassadors from other countries.

    We have, as I said, discussed our plans both with the Germans, the Japanese and of course with other countries as well though your question related particularly to them. They are content with the arrangements. Ambassadors from the world’s nations, including of course the Japanese ambassador, will be invited to appropriate events during the international commemorations between the 6th and 8th of May. I hope that meets the question you put to me.

    QUESTION (TASS):

    Is there any information whether President Yeltsin will be amongst the fifty heads of state to participate?

    PRIME MINISTER:

    It is too early to say precisely who will be coming. Invitations are just going out and it is too early to say yet who will be coming. Early indications are that we will get a very significant response to the invitations but we don’t yet know precisely who will be here.

    COLIN BROWN (THE INDEPENDENT):

    Lord Bramall, a great deal has been said about reconciliation today. Could you say whether the veterans would regard it as still premature after fifty years to see units of the German army on the streets of London?

    LORD BRAMALL:

    It is an entirely hypothetical question, isn’t it, because there won’t be units of the German army walking down anywhere because the emphasis on the 6-7-8 May will be on youth and reconciliation and looking forward and there will be no military parades at that time at all and at the time when there will be a military parade of course it is entirely a national and Commonwealth thing so the question just doesn’t arise.

    VISCOUNT CRANBOURNE:

    Of course, it is perhaps worth noting that the people during the run-up to D-Day who were most anxious that at a certain point the Germans should be represented in a spirit of reconciliation during the course of the whole series of Second World War 50th anniversary commemorations were representatives of the British armed forces, both present and retired.

    I have found during the course of the last eighteen months that there is nobody more dedicated to the spirit of reconciliation with Germany than veterans in this country and as you well know I am sure, there are already many opportunities and reunions for that reconciliation to take place on an annual basis.

    QUESTION:

    Could the Prime Minister please answer the question as to whether the heads of state of Germany and Japan and indeed the other Axis Powers have been invited or not and whether any of their veterans will be attending?

    PRIME MINISTER:

    I think those questions have been answered if you read the transcript but I will make it clear to you again.

    We have invited to the VE-commemorations fifty heads of state and government from the nations that participated in the European theatre of war; that includes Germany but not Japan of course.

    The commemorations later in the year in August are a separate sort of commemoration, they are commemorations more for the Commonwealth, they are not commemorations that involve heads of government elsewhere. The Japanese ambassador will be attending between 6-8 May as I said earlier as will ambassadors from other countries around the world.

    QUESTION (BBC NEWSROUND):

    Prime Minister, what part do you expect young people to play in these commemorations?

    PRIME MINISTER:

    I think young people, successive generations, are the principal beneficiaries of the outcome of the War; it was their future that people fought for, it is their future that is being built now. I hope they will not regard it is a piece of ancient history; I hope they will regard the outcome of the War as something that was as significant to their lifestyle and their future as anything else that has happened in the last fifty years so I hope they will take a very great interest in the commemoration ceremonies, I hope they will attend them. I hope they will take the opportunity where they can’t attend to watch them on television.

    I would echo very strongly what Robert Cranborne had to say about the remarkable coverage across the media as a whole of the D-Day celebrations. I had the pleasure of being at Arramanche and in other places but I saw subsequently the television pictures; I found it as moving watching them afterwards as it was being there seeing them live. I think they will have that impact upon young people as well.

    It is often the view of people that we are cynical these days beyond the levels of cynicism that existed in past generations. I don’t believe that to be true, I think D-Day gave the lie to that argument. I think there will be a much greater depth of understanding and interest amongst young people than many perhaps would suspect and I thoroughly welcome that. It is their country, it is their future, it was for them that the people who won’t be here and who fought in the War and the people who did and are still alive that they made those sacrifices. I think it is about young people, I hope they will take a great interest and I myself believe that they will.

    VISCOUNT CRANBORNE:

    We had a directive from the Prime Minister – a directive which seems to me to be an extremely sensible one for the reasons he has given – that young people should play a very prominent part in the VE-Day commemorations above all because we were thinking about peace, about reconciliation and the future. Therefore, young people will play very much a part in the events of the VE-Day weekend but more than that, in view of what the Prime Minister said about education, the Secretary of State for Education has taken a programme of distribution of what I think are called in the jargon “education packs” to every school in the country so that they will have an opportunity to study a little more carefully the implications of what happened fifty years ago and the results of those events.

    QUESTION:

    Prime Minister, I know you have already touched on this but can you tell us to what lengths you went to try to ensure that after last year’s discussions about the D-Day celebrations no-one was offended this time, even in this country plus heads of state abroad?

    PRIME MINISTER:

    Nobody is seeking to offend anybody. The purpose of this is reconciliation as we indicated. Reconciliation and commemoration are the two themes.

    This isn’t a Government occasion, this is an occasion for all the people in this country and the Commonwealth so it isn’t for the Government to direct what has to be done and to say: “We think this is the way it should be done!” so we went to a great deal of trouble by consulting the people who would be most directly involved. That was the purpose of involving so fully the veterans organisations, it was the purpose of drawing together the rather distinguished group that Robert Cranborne chairs to make the arrangement for May and for August.

    That work has gone on for a long time. We learned a lot from the preparations for D-Day. It is an enormous task. I think it is very easy to underestimate the sheer scale of planning that is necessary to ensure that these two events are satisfactory so the direct answer to your question is: a very great deal and the way in which we did it was by consulting as widely as possible. The other point I would make is that that consultation isn’t yet over. That consultation will continue right up to finalising the plans and right up the execution of those plans on the days concerned. We will continue to consult.

    QUESTION:

    Prime Minister, will you be attending events outside this country because for example there are major events outside the United Kingdom in conjunction with VE-Day, for example the commemoration of fifty years of liberation of concentration camps in Germany?

    PRIME MINISTER:

    I think it is certainly probable that I will be attending events outside the United Kingdom. It is not yet determined which events I will be attending but I certainly will be attending events beyond the United Kingdom as well.

    BRIAN HAMILTON (BRITISH FORCES BROADCASTING SERVICE):

    Could I ask how much money the Government is likely to be putting on one side to fulfil all of the plans and joined with that, how much of that money is likely to be put on one side to help veterans, especially those from Scotland perhaps and the farthest-flung places, come to the capital to attend those functions?

    PRIME MINISTER:

    We can’t be precisely clear what the total costs will be because the final arrangements are not made. It will be a few millions, quite how many millions I don’t think is clear but that cost will be met by the Government out of Departmental budgets. All this was considered of course at the time of the last Public Expenditure Round so the money has been put to one side and will be available.

    As far as the events are concerned, all the events of course will carry no charges at all. There will be events in different parts of the country, it isn’t the case that everybody has to come to London. The Government will not of course be meeting travelling expenses but it will not be charging for any of the events and the full cost of the events has been set aside in Government budgets.

    VISCOUNT CRANBORNE:

    We are very keen, as the Prime Minister said, that all these events should be national events, that the whole nation should be given an opportunity and encouraged to pay its tribute. However, it is equally important that all parts of the United Kingdom should be seen to be fully represented in the central events in London. This does present difficulties over travel and of course we have to be careful about public expenditure, otherwise if we spent too lavish a sum of money you would quite rightly criticise us.

    It is therefore very nice to be able to record that we are in the process of securing sponsorship from different parts of the United Kingdom but particularly for Scotland to help veterans who would not otherwise be able to come down to London. That sponsorship is not fully secured but it is well on the way.

    RAYMOND LLOYD (FREEDOM HOUSE REVIEW):

    On the theme of reconciliation and given that these are not among the 194 events listed, what plans are there for Britain to be represented in Dresden on 14 February, the fiftieth anniversary of the loss of 30,000 civilian lives, and in Hiroshima in August where among the civilians there fifty years ago were 20,000 Korean forced labourers?

    Similarly, given that the fiftieth anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz by Russian forces is to be commemorated on 27 January, what plans are there to commemorate the opening of concentration camps by British forces such as [inaudible] and Belsen in April 1995?

    VISCOUNT CRANBORNE:

    As far as we know, the Japanese have as yet no plans for commemorations at Hiroshima, at least we haven’t been advised of them so we are not in a position to be able to answer that particular part of your question.

    As far as Dresden is concerned, as you know the Germans are mounting what sounds like a very splendid series of commemorations in that city and although this doesn’t form a part of our own official programme which is of course purely a British affair, they have been kind enough to ask His Royal Highness The Duke of Kent whom I understand will be travelling to those particular commemorations and we welcome that.

    QUESTION (ASSOCIATED PRESS):

    You have mentioned the theme reconciliation so many times but I think that the question still remains to be answered clearly about why this theme was not extended to VJ-Day including invitations to all of the countries involved there.

    PRIME MINISTER:

    I think Lord Slim may wish to say something about this.

    LORD SLIM:

    May I start by saying that the media as a whole, through no fault of its own, sometimes gets the wrong idea about the Japanese warrior. I think if you look in the history books you will not find a time when we have had to fight such a courageous, tenacious and tough foe. I think that there is no-one who fought anywhere in Asia who doesn’t have the greatest respect for the Japanese soldier.

    There were other bits that went on in nations that were crushed, nations that were defeated, where perhaps the behaviour was not in accordance with the way that we believe a prisoner of war or a civilian internee was looked after.

    We veterans now are all charities, we look after our people and we remember those who are still buried all over Asia and we remember the people of those countries who were maltreated in the most beastly way so when we remember those who did not come back, we remember our mates and we remember the people who were trodden so hard upon in the countries that were defeated.

    So our reconciliation is a little different. We admire the capabilities of the Japanese warrior, we are perfectly happy to meet Japanese in different circumstances when we travel and go abroad but we do not necessarily wish to meet them all the time; I tell you that because the media doesn’t always get it right. There is no question in this case that VJ-Day is the Veterans’ Day, End-of-War Day, Commonwealth Day and I think the Japanese who we speak to perfectly understand that it is a Commonwealth Day; we are interested in meeting those of the Commonwealth like the great Indian Army who fought beside us and I think that is it.

    When you talk about Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the Field Marshal and I were in both those places within about six or seven months of the bomb being dropped. There were casualties, it was horrific but as the Field Marshal said, we were also planning to have to attack and take Japan and you don’t have to be a military genius when you know that your enemy fights to the death and never surrenders to know that the casualties inflicted on this country by doing so if we had had to would have been far in excess of the numbers of killed, maimed and wounded in Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

    That is our view, a very friendly view but basically our enemies at that time – friends now – particularly the Japanese, were not in the Commonwealth of British Nations.

    VISCOUNT CRANBORNE:

    I would if I may, just as a matter of record, confirm that we have been in close touch with our Japanese friends and consulted them over how they saw the question of commemorations which for reasons Lord Slim has made clear were bound to be delicate in view of the events we are commemorating and indeed the survivors. They have confirmed to us that they would not feel it appropriate for them to be represented at what is a Commonwealth occasion and they are very happy to be represented at VE-Day where one of the themes is reconciliation. I hope and believe that our Japanese allies are wholly content with our approach and as long as that remains the case I am perfectly content as well. As I say, these are matters which stir high emotions on both sides.

    Ladies and Gentlemen, we have given the Prime Minister quite a long ride; he has certainly been patient with me. I wonder whether we might draw this part of the proceedings to a close. The Prime Minister has another appointment.

    Anybody who wishes to bombard me or any of my colleagues with questions, we are here; we also have a representative selection of veterans who I am extremely grateful to for turning up. I see a number of familiar faces from the D-Day events here and it is very nice to see them again. Perhaps, if I may, I would particularly like to mention the representatives of SAAFA and the British Legion and Admiral Wilson, Mr. Jobson and General Charles Grey who have put so much work into their contributions to this campaign. I am sure that if any of you would like to ask any of us questions and reactions we would be delighted to try and answer them as best we can.

    Thank you very much for coming and thank you for entering into the spirit of this. I look forward to constructive suggestions over the next few months.