Portrait of the week
Mr Nigel Lawson's first Budget propos- ed major tax reforms: an increase in personal allowances equivalent to an in- come tax cut for most people of at least £2 a week; the abolition of the national insur- ance and investment income surcharges; and the reduction of corporation a.x, over a period of :hree years. to 35 per cent. Tax relief on new life assurance policies will be abolished, stamp duty on share and proper- ty transfers reduced to a Oat rate of 1 per cent. The rate of inflation. according to the Chancellor, should he down to 4.5 per cent by the end of this year_ Mr David Dimbleby was able to appear on BBC television's Budget programme after the National Union of Journalists was ordered by the High Court not to take any action to 'black' the programme. (Mr Dimbleby is in dispute with the NLJ over the printing of his newspaper, the Richmond and Twicken- ham Times.) Three quarters of the coun- try's coal miners were on strike, principally in Yorkshire, but also in South Wales, Scotland, Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire where pickets prevented the majority of pits from continuing to operate. The deputy speaker of the House of Commons, Mr Harold Walker, took it upon himself to criticise the chairman of the Coal Board, Mr Ian MacGregor, for taking the dispute to the High Court, which granted an in- junction against the Yorkshire 'flying pickets'. At the Government Communi- cations Headquarters at Cheltenham the 200 (out of 7,000) employees who declined the Government's offer of 11,000 to re- nounce their union membership formed a new organisation called GCHQ Trade Unions. The Sinn Fein MP, Gerry Adams, was shot, though not dead, in Belfast, and David Martin, convicted of shooting a policeman, killed himself in Parkhurst prison. Bombs were exploded in London and Manchester, apparently the work of Libyans against other Libyans; about 25 were injured, and the Libyan People's Bureau denied that its government was in- volved.
lin elections for the American Democratic ipresidential nominee, Senator Gary Hart consolidated his position by defeating Walter Mondale, a former vice-president, in several states, though losing to him in Alabama and Georgia. Earlier, an opinion poll suggested that Mr Hart would beat Mr Reagan it' the presidential election were held now. In Lausanne. Switzerland, President Gemayel held 'national reconciliation' talks- with. eight of Lebanon's Christian and Moslem leaders, hoping to establish 'a real peace for a people who have suffered in the service of peace'. Mr Gemayel ap- peared ready to make important conces- sions to the Moslems; President Assad of Syria sent his foreign minister to the talks
and appointed his brother as one of three vice-presidents. South Africa offered to meet the South-West Africa Peoples Organisation (SWAPO) to discuss the country's future, together with the Angolan aovernment and (iN1TA rebels. Both Angola and Mozambique agreed to main- tain peaceful. relations with South Africa. and Nelson Mandela, the imprisoned black South African leader, declined the govern- merit's offer of freedom to live in the tribal homeland of Transkei. A British merchant ship was attacked by Iraqi aircraft in the Gulf near the Iranian port of Bandar Kho- meini, and a French naval patrol vessel' seeking to enforce EEC fishing regulations: fired on two Spanish trawlers in the Bay of Biscay; nine fishermen were injured. Greenland decided to leave the Common Market next January.
ARussian newspaper, Komsomolskayll Pravda, published a letter from Mrs Thatcher on NATO's, policy for disarma- ment together with a reply from Valentina Tereshkova, the first woman in sPaee• Strange goings-on were reported from the right-wing Monday Club: its political advis- er, having resigned with three others because of 'racism' among the member- ship, was accused of supporting similar extremist policies and plotting to take over the club. Viscount Macmillan died at 63. only a few weeks after his father was made Earl of Stockton. In Paris, a film producer, Gerard Lebovici, was murdered, and a crocodile was found alive in a sewer. t‘,. painting by Sir Alfred Munnings was 501° for a record 1220,000 at Christie's. Ian Botham returned from England's cricket tour of Pakistan with a knee injury, saying that he might retire with the money which he expected to get from libel actions against various newspapers which alleged that he and other team members had smoked mari- juana in New Zealand. Miss Ina Skri',er. Christina World, an actress, sued the Daily Evpress for libel for having said that she had been to Balmoral to meet the Prince of Wales and Prince Andrew. In New York' a man was awarded 5200,000 for having been wrongfully arrested for indecent e(- posure when the zip on his trousers came
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