§ Q1. Miss Lestorasked the Prime Minister if he will pay an official visit to Eton.
§ The Prime Minister (Mr. Edward Heath)I have at present no plans to do so, Sir.
§ Miss LestorWill the right hon. Gentleman reconsider that answer, bearing in mind that during the last election campaign he told the electorate of Slough the benefits that would come to them from joining the EEC, asking them to rely totally on his judgment? Will he now go to Eton—the other side of my constituency—thus ensuring a uniform swing to Labour throughout the constituency, such as we had last time, explaining why he was not prepared to go to the electorate on the question of a mandate over Europe but is prepared to go to the electorate to ask whether the miners have the right to refuse to work overtime?
§ The Prime MinisterEverything I said about Europe at Slough in the last election was confirmed by a majority of 112 in the House.
§ Sir Gilbert LongdenWhilst I make no value judgment about Eton or any other public school, may I ask my right hon. Friend roundly to assert that the future of the country depends, as its past has depended, upon the defence of excellence against the ceaseless attacks of the the envious, and that the Socialist Party is the eradicator of excellence and the midwife of the second-rate?
§ The Prime MinisterI congratulate my hon. Friend on a memorable phrase, of which many of us will no doubt wish to make use. It is undoubtedly the case that the Conservative Party stands for an element of choice in education, which it is absolutely right that parents should have.
§ Mr. SkinnerIf the Prime Minister will not go to Eton, will he go to Leicester on 14th February—Valentine's Day—to address the housewives, invite the television cameras, and let the nation witness the massacre?
§ The Prime MinisterOnce again the hon. Gentleman will be in for a great disappointment, because the housewives recognise that it is this Government who are righting inflation.