§ 26. Mr. Reevesasked the Minister of Defence if he is aware that Britain spends 9 per cent. of the national product on defence compared with an average of 5 per cent. spent by other West European countries in the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation; and if Her Majesty's Government will now reduce defence expenditure to this lower average in view of the fact that the country's trade balance 1070 would thereby be transformed and that the reduction would enable Income Tax to be halved.
§ Sir W. MoncktonI am aware that the percentage of gross national product spent on defence is considerably higher in the United Kingdom than in most other Western European countries in N.A.T.O. The United Kingdom's expenditure on defence cannot be settled solely by relation to the expenditure of other countries it must depend primarily on the commitments which its Armed Forces have to carry out.
§ Mr. Emrys Hughesis the Minister aware that the Chancellor of the Exchequer recently told the foreign Press that if he could knock off £700 million of his defence expenditure he would solve the whole problem of our balance of payments? Does not the right hon. and learned Gentleman think that he could do something to help the Chancellor of the Exchequer in his economic dilemma?
§ Sir W. MoncktonI could hope to solve all my own economic dilemmas if I could get rid of a whole lot of commitments which I cannot escape.