Margaret Thatcher on Socialism

The following video clip is an excerpt from Margaret Thatcher's last House of Commons appearance on November 22, 1990., where she responded to the accusations that her policies led to significant widening of the gap between the rich and the poor during her time in office.

video source from mynameiswhatever YouTube channel

(see video at the bottom of transcript)

transcript:

The Prime Minister

I give way to the honorable gentleman.

Mr. Hughes

There is no doubt that the Prime Minister, has in many ways, achieved substantial success. There is one statistic, however, that I understand is not challenged, and that is that, during her 11 years as Prime Minister, the gap between the richest 10 per cent. and the poorest 10 per cent. in this country has widened substantially. How can she say at the end of her chapter of British politics, that she can justify many people in a constituency such as mine being relatively much poorer, much less well housed and much less well provided then it was in 1979? Surely she accepts that is not a record that she or any Prime Minister can be proud of.

The Prime Minister

Mr Speaker, all levels of income are better off than they were in 1979. But what the hon. member is saying that he would rather that the poor were poorer, provided that the rich were less rich. That way you will never create the wealth for better social services, as we have. What a policy. Yes, he would rather have the poor poorer, provided that the rich were less rich. That is the Liberal policy.

Mr. Hughes

No.

The Prime Minister

Yes, it came out. He didn't intend it to, but it did.

...

The Prime Minister

I give way to the honorable gentleman.

Mr. Sillars

The Prime Minister is aware that I detest every single one of her domestic policies, and I have never hidden that fact.

The Prime Minister

And I think that the hon. Gentleman knows that I have the same contempt for his socialist policies as the people of east Europe, who have experienced them, have for theirs. I think that I must have hit the right nail on the head when I pointed out that the logic of those policies is that they would rather have the poor poorer. Once they start to talk about the gap, they would rather that the gap were that—[indicating[—down here, not that—[indicating[—but that—[indicating.] So long as the gap is smaller, they would rather have the poor poorer. You do not create wealth and opportunity that way. You do not create a property-owning democracy that way.