§ Mr. Teddy Taylorasked the Prime Minister if she will make a statement outlining the objectives of her Government for the rest of the current Parliament.
§ The Prime MinisterAt home, we aim for continued reduction of inflation and sustained economic growth, based on sound financial policies. We will continue policies designed to achieve better prospects for employment, involving a more flexible and competitive economy encouraging initiative and enterprise. Our aim will be to hold public expenditure broadly stable in real terms, to seek to reduce Government borrowing and to reduce the level of taxation. We will work for the spread of wealth and ownership more widely in our country, based upon the privatisation of industries, the encouragement of individual home-ownership, and the spread of employee profit sharing and share participation in 131W business. We will use our new legislation to protect householders and business from excessive rate demands, and will continue with our task of streamlining local government. We will seek to free more publicly owned land, particularly in city centres, for the rebuilding of our urban areas, and will consider simplifying planning regulations to help investment.
We shall bring to a conclusion our widespread review of the welfare state — the largest review since Beveridge. We will seek to protect the poorest in our community, whilst strengthening incentives to work. We will encourage the new board of management of the NHS to put patients first, and to ensure that the increasing resources we are making available for the Health Service go to improve the quality of service.
We shall vigorously uphold the rule of law and fight crime, especially drug abuse and crimes of violence. We will complete our examination of public order legislation. We shall continue our work for a better educational system, by giving parents more say, by extending the training and vocational elements in teenage education, and by laying greater emphasis on the improvement of standards in the system.
Our policies on pollution will improve the environment, and our conservation policies will protect the best in our heritage.
Abroad, we will promote freer and fairer trade between nations. Within the European Community, we seek to strengthen the workings of the internal market in goods and services so that industry thrives and the consumer throughout the EC has access to the best products at the best price, regardless of their source of manufacture, and our suppliers have a fair chance. We will continue to work for enlargement of the Community to strengthen democracy in Western Europe.
We will maintain the effectiveness of our defences through co-operation with our NATO Allies, and we will ensure that Britain maintains an independent nuclear deterrent. We will work from strength for the mutual reduction and control of armaments. We will see that Britain's voice remains prominent in international counsels. We will sustain our efforts to combat hunger and disease. We will continue to improve the efficiency of public services, taking Government out of those areas which are best left to others. We seek a strong Britain, where individuals have more choice.