Wages, Costs and Prices (Hansard, 6 June 1957)

§ 18. Mr. Robens
asked the Minister of Labour whether he is now able to indicate his proposals for the setting up of an authoritative and impartial body to consider the wide implications of the movement of wages, costs and prices referred to in Command Paper No. 159.

§ The Minister of Labour and National Service (Mr. Iain Macleod)
No, Sir. I am not yet able to make a statement about the proposals in the Command Paper. My right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer and I are now having exploratory discussions on a wider basis with representatives of industry and a statement will be made in due course.

§ Mr. Robens
When the Prime Minister returned to the scene of his defeat by the 1445 present hon. Member for Stockton-on-Tees (Mr. Chetwynd) and made his statement about consultations, is it the case that he made that speech without consultation with the right hon. Gentleman and without knowledge of the exact proposals that the Government proposed to put before the T.U.C. and industry?

§ Mr. Macleod
Not in the least. These discussions are going on. I have three of them this afternoon, and I am meeting representatives of the T.U.C. and of the nationalised industries within the next hour. The proposals are. however, at a very tentative stage, and it is right that in a proposal as important as this we should not make a statement until all those concerned have been fully consulted.