§ 46. Mr. Jayasked the Prime Minister what response he has received to his appeal to private industry by way of specific assurances that restraint will be exercised in the payment of increased dividends.
§ The Prime MinisterThe right hon. Gentleman will have seen the recent statement of leading associations of private industry recommending to their members among other things great restraint in prices. Such restraint would naturally have an influence on the level of profits and dividends.
§ Mr. JayDid the Prime Minister notice that the statement by the F.B.I. and other bodies contained no reference to dividends? In view of the recent interference by the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food in wage negotiations, is it now the Governments' policy that there should be Government control of wages but Conservative freedom in profits and dividends?
§ The Prime MinisterThe right hon. Gentleman knows that that is not accurate, and that my right hon. Friend's so-called "interference" is not accepted. There are other precedents in that matter. As regards the question of prices, the right hon. Gentleman might notice what the Director of the British Employers' Confederation said, that—it was quite clear in the matter—the solution of achieving the equilibrium lay in employers taking calculated risks in using their profit margins for steadying prices. I suggest that is exactly what the nation would like to see.