§ 57. Mr. WinnickTo ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many days in the last month he has spent on his official duties.
§ The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (Mr. Kenneth Baker)I spend up to a quarter of my time carrying out my duties as Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and as a member of the Government.
§ Mr. WinnickThat is most interesting. Why have the fortunes of the Government declined so dramatically since the right hon. Gentleman has held his current position? Could he arrange with the Prime Minister to keep him where he is at least until the next election when, as he admitted on Saturday, the Tories will face their toughest test yet?
§ Mr. BakerThe hon. Gentleman asked almost exactly the same question of my predecessor in 1986. He will know that we were behind in the polls then and we won the subsequent general election. We are behind in the polls now and we shall win the next general election.
§ Mr. HindMy right hon. Friend will be aware that many of the tenants of the Duchy of Lancaster with whom he deals and on whom he spends a quarter of his time are constituents of mine. Recently I have visited quite a lot of them, and they have the same problem as I do in discovering what the Opposition intend to do about the community charge. Will my right hon. Friend, on behalf of the tenants, write to the Leader of the Opposition asking him what he has in mind?
§ Mr. BakerI have tried, but the Opposition will not reply. The Opposition's campaign for the local government elections is wholly cynical and dishonest. They will not spell out their alternative—their spokesman refused to do so on radio this morning. The hon. Member for Copeland (Dr. Cunningham), who invented the roof tax, knows what the figures are, so why does not he come to the House and tell the country what they would be?