§ 12. Mr. Martenasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer to what extent has the undertaking given in the first sentence in paragraph 10 of the Letter of Intent of 22nd May, 1969, been fulfilled.
§ Mr. Roy JenkinsThis was not an undertaking but a statement of fact which was wholly true when it was made and remains so.
§ Mr. MartenBut did not that paragraph undertake that the statutory powers relating to the incomes policy would, in effect, continue till the end of 1969, and is it not a breach of that undertaking to the I.M.F. that the incomes policy has now been breached in what amounts to a blitzkrieg of pay increases?
§ Mr. JenkinsThe undertaking specifically related to the statutory powers; the hon. Gentleman has paraphrased rather than quoted the sentence, but I think that he has paraphrased it accurately. It is the fact that until the latest date for which we have statistics wage movements have been slightly lower in 1969 than in 1968.
§ Mr. HigginsIs not the Chancellor sticking to the letter rather than the spirit of the undertaking, and, to give some indication of what has happened, could he tell us by how much prices and wages have gone up compared with the norm?
§ Mr. JenkinsNo, Sir, not without notice. [An HON. MEMBER: "But the Chancellor must know. I wish that the hon. Gentleman would not be so foolish. I will not give approximate figures off the cuff without notice. The hon. Member for Worthing, who follows these matters—I am not sure about his hon. Friend behind him—can find the published statistics quite easily.