§ 6. Mr. William Hamiltonasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when he intends to publish information on the effects on the cost of living of Great Britain's entry into the Common Market.
§ Mr. Cledwyn HughesI would refer my hon. Friend to what my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister said in reply to the right hon. Member for Bexley (Mr. Heath) on 16th October.—[Vol. 788. c. 604.]
§ Mr. HamiltonI have read what my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister said on Woman's Hour on the B.B.C. the other day. Is my right hon. Friend aware that I am very much a pro-Common Marketeer and hope that we shall obtain the right conditions to enter, but that nevertheless the housewife is rightly very much concerned about this problem, and that it should be made plain to her what the consequences of our entry will be?
§ Mr. HughesWe have always recognised that the difference in food prices is one of the most important issues in our approach to the European Economic Community, and there certainly would have to be a period of adjustment. But we should now wait for the figures that my right hon. Friend has promised will be produced shortly.
§ Mr. GodberMay I reinforce the point the hon. Member for Fife, West (Mr. William Hamilton) made. After what the Prime Minister is reported as having said yesterday, surely we must be told the facts about this, particularly as the Prime Minister has attempted from time to time to say that this cost is low whereas the cost of Conservative policy is very high. The Minister must know that the cost of joining the Continent would be at least three times as much as anything we have ever proposed. Will he tell his right hon. Friend that?
§ Mr. HughesWe must now await the figures my right hon. Friend has promised. But none of us was ever satisfied with the figures produced by the Opposition on the cost of Conservative Party policy, which we know would put the price of food up without our entering the Common Market.
§ Mr. TurtonWhen shall we get the figures? The right hon. Gentleman gave the 1967 figure. Since then the Prime Minister has said that there will be a very steep rise and warned the housewives of Britain. Surely it is the right hon. Gentleman's responsibility to publish without delay how much those 1967 estimates are out of date.
§ Mr. HughesFigures involving a number of Departments are concerned. My right hon. Friend has promised to publish them as soon as possible, and this will be done.