– in the House of Commons at 12:00 am on 22 November 1973.
Mr Tom Cox
, Wandsworth Central
12:00,
22 November 1973
asked the Prime Minister if he will visit the London borough of Wandsworth.
Mr Edward Heath
, Bexley
I have at present no plans to do so.
Mr Tom Cox
, Wandsworth Central
Is the Prime Minister aware that, following the collapse of his economic policy, some of those hardest hit will be local authorities, such as Wandsworth, which are trying to overcome social problems caused by, first, increased costs and, secondly, the private developers whom we are trying to fight off because they have no interest in the borough or the people? The private developers are interested solely in the money which they can make. Is the right hon. Gentleman further aware that, instead of writing to Tory candidates in Wandsworth, he should come to the borough and meet the elected representatives who have to try to solve the problems?
Mr Edward Heath
, Bexley
Housing is a matter for the local authority to organise. We have placed no restriction on its house building. [An HON. MEMBER: "Yardsticks."] Concerning the use of private developers, that again is a matter for local authorities. But I cannot help noticing that in many parts of London, Labour authorities are using private developers to the utmost.
Mr Geoffrey Finsberg
, Hampstead
If my right hon. Friend visits Wandsworth or any other Labour-controlled borough in London, will he point out to the local authority that the acquisition at almost any price of any house coming on to the market does not add any property to the housing stock?
Mr Edward Heath
, Bexley
That is quite true.
Mr John Pardoe
, North Cornwall
Are not the repeated assertions that the right hon. Gentleman's Government are putting nothing in the way of local authorities building houses totally misleading and not believed by anyone in local government? In the first six months of this year, as a result of Government policy, Cornish local authorities were able to start only 135 local authority houses compared with 435 in the same period last year. What will the right hon. Gentleman do about that?
Mr Edward Heath
, Bexley
That is certainly not the result of Government restrictions on local authority building.
The political party system in the English-speaking world evolved in the 17th century, during the fight over the ascension of James the Second to the Throne. James was a Catholic and a Stuart. Those who argued for Parliamentary supremacy were called Whigs, after a Scottish word whiggamore, meaning "horse-driver," applied to Protestant rebels. It was meant as an insult.
They were opposed by Tories, from the Irish word toraidhe (literally, "pursuer," but commonly applied to highwaymen and cow thieves). It was used — obviously derisively — to refer to those who supported the Crown.
By the mid 1700s, the words Tory and Whig were commonly used to describe two political groupings. Tories supported the Church of England, the Crown, and the country gentry, while Whigs supported the rights of religious dissent and the rising industrial bourgeoisie. In the 19th century, Whigs became Liberals; Tories became Conservatives.
