Conservatives back N.Z.

Press, 12 April 1979, Page 4

Conservatives back N.Z.

The British Government’s promises to safeguard New Zealand’s farm trade with Britain were matched by the Conservatives whe'n their party leader (Mrs Thatcher) opened her General Election campaign in London yesterday. Mrs Thatcher said that a Conservative Government would work to reform the cornerstone of the E.E.C., the Common Agricultural Policy (C.A.P.), and agreed with the Labour Party that a European price-freeze should be introduced this year. Neither she nor the party’s manifesto specifi-

cally mentioned primary produce trade with Third World countries but her shadow Foreign Minister (Mr Francis Pym) again went through the party’s policy on relationships with “old” Commonwealth partners. “We intend to be loyal to those countries with which we have a long-standing relationship, such as New Zealand, Australia, and Canada,” he said. “Of specific trade questions in the context of the E.E.C., New Zealand’s butter is the most sensitive and we wish to make it quite plain that we wish to preserve part of the British

market for New Zealand butter.” He said the party was “acutely conscious” of the need to negotiate as soon as possible on how much butter New Zealand could send to Europe after the arrangement ends next year. Mrs Thatcher, launching her campaign for the May 3 election which the Conservatives are favoured to win, said her party “would wish to see a country where more and more people are independent of the Government, rather than dependent on it.” She rejected suggestions that if she were Prime Min-

ister she could head for a similar confrontation with the unions that brought down the previous Conservative Government in February', 1974. “After we have been elected,” she said, “the trade-union leaders will work with a Conservative Government because we are a democratic country.” Mrs Thatcher set the Conservative Party five tasks: to restore economic health; to restore incentives so that “hard work pays”; to uphold Parliament and the rule of law; to support family life; and to strengthen Britain’s defences.