How does Mrs. Faulkes respond to John’s query on the government’s not lowering taxes five years ago?

M: In our radio car we have Geraldine Faulkes who is on the campaign trail. Now, Mrs. Faulkes, it’s only three weeks till the general election. How’s the campaign going?
W: Thank you, John. I’m fully confident that the Conservative Party will win this general election and that the people of this country will welcome five more years of good Conservative Government. Our economy is growing stronger and now is the right time for income tax cuts.
M: But you said you would lower taxes five years ago, but you didn’t, did you?
W: Our economic policies over the last five years have given us one of the strongest economies in Europe with some of the lowest rates. We said that we were going to lower interest rates at the last election and we have delivered our promise.
M: But I don’t think low interest rates are the same as lowering taxes. Why should we believe you on your promise to lower taxes this time?
W: The economy of the country is now very healthy, and now is the time.
M: Five years ago you said you were going to spend more money on healthcare, and you didn’t. Now we have fewer hospitals and waiting lists are enormous. Hospitals are also understaffed.
W: In the last five years we have spent more on the healthcare system than the Labour government spent in their last 10 years.
M: But the Labour Party was in power over 12 years ago and with inflation and the higher cost of living you can’t really compare spending 12 years ago and today, can you? Then what would a new Conservative government do to tackle unemployment?
W: Unemployment has been falling steadily over the last five years thanks to our training schemes.
M: But those schemes just keep young people out of the unemployment statistics for a few months. Very few of them get jobs in the end. In fact, all you did was to play with the statistics to make it look as if unemployment was falling. Well, what about more action on poverty?
W: By reducing government handouts we have encouraged people to find themselves jobs. We believe in making people independent. There are jobs if they look hard enough.
M: And what about your party’s attitude to Europe? There’s been a lot of argument in the party recently about whether we should have closer links with Europe.
W: There’re no divisions within the Conservative Party. We’re united in our belief that we will maintain close links with Europe in the future. But a close relationship with Europe doesn’t mean that we will hand over government of this country to a central European government.
M: We’ve run out of time. Thank you very much, Mrs. Faulkes.
W: Thank you.