Chapter 61 Section 4 The second week of the election - 14 days to 7 days before the election

At this time (Thursday 19 April) something very painful happened in London concerning the effect of my Cardiff speech on the 'position' of the party and my party campaign.Peter Thornycroft thinks we made a strategic mistake that should be avoided in the future.Since there are not many opportunities for colleagues in the headquarters to participate in public activities, he decided to participate in the drafting of my speech.I didn't know all this at the time.I visited a textile mill in Leicester that morning, where I used a bit of needlework I learned as a boy to sew a pocket on a smock in front of a mob of journalists and astonished workers.

However, as the car was approaching the Cadbury factory in Bournville, I learned that Pod Thornycroft had insisted on starting from preparations for that evening's rally in Birmingham, the second most important rally of the campaign. ) deleted a strongly worded statement about unions from a speech he delivered.The passage, drafted by Paul Johnson, a prominent British journalist and historian who had abandoned his socialist beliefs, was considered too provocative by Peter.He apparently also intervened with Keith Joseph to not speak on the subject.I disagree with Peter's estimate, but as I was out of London at the time I am not entirely sure of my judgment.So, angrily, I tore those pages out of the script and inserted some irrelevant passages.Thankfully, the final section of my speech on defense and foreign affairs, which Peter Carrington helped me draft, contained some extremely intense content, and deliberately borrowed from my earlier speech at Kensington Town Hall. Intonation and rhetoric.

When our sedan pulled up at the factory gate, I was in a bad mood.I have paid special attention to not arrange formal reception personnel for this visit. I am willing to go directly into the factory and talk to the managers and workers I meet.But now I see two long lines of people in white hats and coats lined up at the door. I didn't see any photographers. I think they must be hiding somewhere and waiting for the right time to come out to shoot this funny and interesting scene. scene, I didn't get out of the car immediately, and stayed in the car for a minute or two to stabilize my emotions.That's when I realized I recognized a few faces I thought were factory workers.They turned out to be a group of reporters.No doubt they must have heard my earlier instructions to put on their white overalls as a joke.As soon as I got out of the car, they held up their cameras.I walked into the factory right under the arch of these cameras.They were so excited about the joke that they forgot to take a photo, but they showed me the funny side of the campaign, and for that I think we should all be grateful.

I sewed the pockets in the morning, so it was time to pack the chocolates in the afternoon.It was a demanding and difficult job—it was called "unskilled work," which was a loose term and did not fit the reality of the job.I used to work in a factory, and that was many years ago, but I see that certain traditions have not changed.A newly married female worker put all her wedding presents on a table near the production line for friends to admire.After wrapping the chocolates, we had a discussion, which took a long time and exceeded the schedule.At last we hurried off to the Midland Hotel in Brammham.I love chocolate very much, and I don't think eating too much will affect my appetite.But the lingering vanilla scent kept me from touching it for the rest of the campaign.

Despite all the troubles of preparation, the Birmingham Lecture was a great success—not only those passages dealing with East-West relations and the threat of Communism, but also those on law and order.I promise to "build an iron wall" to block the lawless socialist road.After the meeting, we drove back to London, and the next day (Friday, April 20) we had to visit various constituencies in London. On Saturday, April 21, the campaign continued as usual, starting with a factory in Milton Keynes that produces high-precision electrical components.After listening to the detailed introduction, I became very interested in the production technology, and soon I was able to explain it to a group of journalists who were ignorant of the technology.That's when we came to a heart monitor, and they pressed a lot of wires on me to check my heart.All the indicators are normal, which means I am in good physical condition.Like I said: "Solid as a rock" -- and, in my judgment, the state of our party's entire campaign. One of the strangest features of the 1979 election campaign was the growing gap in perception between those of us campaigning on the ground and those of us at headquarters.Politicians, of course, are as prone to overconfidence as anyone else, but compared to the two general elections of 1983 and 1987, when security concerns loomed large, my confidence was much higher this time around, and I did feel Voters feel that their hearts are with us.I am also convinced that this change was largely caused by developments in the winter of 1978-1979, and that it is not wise to be overly cautious with regard to trade union power.

But it was clear from the strategy discussion I gave on Fllard Avenue on Sunday, April 22 that not everyone sees things that way.While the various polls continued to diverge - with one finding the Conservatives ahead by 20 points and another showing the Conservatives leading by only 5.5 points - there were no major shifts during the campaign.According to Peter Thornycroft, we should basically proceed along the same lines.As he put it in his written remarks at the Sunday strategy meeting, "We should not initiate any high-stakes actions. We are ahead now." On its own, there seems to be nothing wrong with that statement, but it begs two question.One, isn't it because we took some kind of high-stakes initiative first, like my intervention Winter of Discontent, that we got where we are today?Second, what counts as a "high risk" operation now?Measures to curb union power?Or do nothing?One of the greatest dangers, after all, is complacency at a time when the race has gained a clear lead.Encouraging voters' enthusiasm, as long as it's not on issues where they don't agree with us, is indispensable to winning elections.

My campaign this week is to go to the north of England and then to Scotland.After the press conference on Monday morning, I flew to Newcastle.There will be reporters taking pictures when visiting a tea processing factory there.Tasting that gooey, milk-and-sugar-free tea concoction is not unlike tasting chocolate at my factory in Bourneville. A large group of people gathered at the gate of the factory, and one of them was tall.Forbidding women were hurling abuse in my direction.The police told me to leave.But I figured that if she had any grievances, it would be better to say it to my face than behind my back, so I went over to talk to her.I took her by the arm, and with good looks asked her to tell me what had happened.Her demeanor changed all at once.She also had the usual grumbling and restlessness, but the real reason for her anger was her conviction that people who engage in politics are people who don't want to listen to other people's opinions.I answered her questions to the best of my ability and said my amicable farewell.After I left, I could clearly hear her saying to her friend, "Didn't I tell you, she's good." Years of campaigning experience tells me that unchangeable hostile voters are rare. .One of the tragedies of the terrorist threat is that today's politicians rarely have the opportunity to convince themselves of that fact.

Tuesday was a day of traditional campaigning, with four walks scheduled, including visits to Sowerby candidate Donald Thompson's butcher shop and a supermarket.We bought a bunch of stuff at the supermarket as usual and took them back to the combat office.On the steps of the Conservative Party's Halifax branch, a photographer took a picture of me holding two shopping bags in the drizzling rain - a blue shopping bag full of 1974 The other red shopping bag is only half filled with the food that one pound could buy in Britain in 1979 when the Labor Party was in power.There is nothing wrong with this approach, if it is considered politically rather than economically, and it is quite popular with practical Yorkshiremen.

When I got back to London that evening, I was interviewed by Dennis Tui for TV Eyes.It was the least friendly interview of the campaign, but it gave me the opportunity to make a strong defense of my party's union reform proposals.Regardless of what headquarters thinks, I am not prepared to back down on this issue.I reiterated my resolve to deal with union militants.I also pointed out what it meant for a Conservative government to say it was preparing to face an all-out battle with the unions. Let's discuss the substance of the matter.You're saying that the union leaders think this whole election is nothing more than a hollow and hypocritical hoax, and if you're not mistaken, and the union leaders do, well, I'm going to get voters in any country that might give The majority of their government, and I'm going for the vast majority of the 12 million union members in Britain.I think your point is wrong.

The Labor Party believes that the better way to solve the problem of trade union power is to discuss with the trade unions, so-called "contracts", rather than to amend the law. I particularly disagree with this opinion. You know, wouldn't it be very strange if Lord Shaftesbury, the great reformer of the Tories, looked at the conditions of work in factories and workshops years ago and said: I will enter into a voluntary contract with the workshop owner.Do you think he can make such a contract?Of course he can't.He said: "There are some things we have to pass laws to do.

After the press conference and radio interview on the morning of Wednesday, April 25, I had lunch at headquarters and then flew to Edinburgh.I was starting to get bored with the standard format of speaking to audiences across the country.The speeches were largely copied from scripts prepared for the Cardiff and Birmingham mass meetings, with some extra passages inserted, and sent out as press releases.As a result, I underwent major surgery on the lecture notes I brought with me to Scotland.It was almost time to speak, and I was still on my knees in my Caledonian Hotel room, using scissors and scotch tape to cut and paste speeches from the papers spread all over the floor.Tessa Jardin Paterson hurriedly typed every page for me.The speech I gave at Leith Town Hall was basically this script.Its content is at least fresh - even I feel that way.At the end of my talk, I added a few lines from Kipling that I love: The world is sleeping and won't wake up for a while, From her long nightmare she murmured, Moaning softly, Suddenly all the people stood up and they Hearing the sound of shattering fetters, People smile to each other and say his soul His own! The audience here was amazing, the first few cheers lifted my spirits, and I gave the best speech. We then headed to Glasgow, stayed at the airport hotel, had a late dinner and then rested before continuing campaigning in Scotland the next day.The excitement of a successful speech energizes me immensely.Although the polls suggest that Labor may be closing in on us, there is still a wide gap and my gut tells me we are winning the argument.Labor's campaign fatigue has been palpable.They repeat a theme over and over - that Tory policies will not work, and if they do, it will be at the cost of ruthless cuts to utilities.In this way, they slipped unwittingly into an argument that nothing would work and that Britain's problems were essentially insoluble.This view puts Labor at odds with the basic demands of the people, who instinctively believe that progress is possible and should be pursued.We stand for this instinctive claim – and indeed, Labor has ceded that monopoly to us.I feel like the campaign is going well. Dennis, Carol, and Ronnie Miller were in the hotel at the time, and we were chatting and joking.Janet Young has been traveling with us.She slipped out at dinner and came back to tell me with a serious face that Peter Thornycroft - "Chairman" as she kept calling him - thought the political situation was not so good and that Ted Heath should be in Next party general election telecast. I couldn't help but fly into a rage.This clearly does not trust me.If Peter Thornycroft and Headquarters don't understand by now that it is not only the policies of Wilson-Callaghan that we are trying to reverse but also the policies of the Heath Government, they simply don't.I told Janet that if she and Peter thought so, I might as well pack up and go.Ted participated in the 4 general elections and lost 3 times. He has no say in a general election with such a manifesto as the campaign platform.Inviting him to present the party platform for us is tantamount to admitting the failure of my proposed policies. Maybe it's unfair to blame Janet for conveying Peter's opinion, but it was the most genuinely frustrating moment for me during the campaign.I told her I didn't even want to hear that anymore.She no doubt made a few cuts in conveying my response to the "Chairman," and I went to bed still pissed off.