HC Deb 19 March 1970 vol 798 cc604-5
Q1. Mr. Marten

asked the Prime Minister whether he will make a statement on the practice when answering Parliamentary Questions of referring hon. Members to policy statements which he has made on television telediphone recordings which do not claim to he totally accurate.

The Prime Minister (Mr. Harold Wilson)

Frequently the answer is given to questions which ask me to place television telediphone recordings in the Library. I do this when appropriate, Sir, though I cannot accept responsibility for their complete accuracy.

Mr. Marten

As the B.B.C. specifically warns that these recordings are often inaccurate, may I ask whether it is wise for the Prime Minister to quote them when referring to his own policy? For example, does the Prime Minister recall saying on television last year that unofficial strikes simply have to be tackled and dealt with? Was that not an inaccurate recording?

The Prime Minister

It is true that each of these recordings warn against inaccuracy. That was a completely accurate statement, and it is the view of right hon. and hon. Members in all parts of the House. Where we disagree is how they should be dealt with. I assure the hon. Gentleman that the Conservative proposals would lead to far more strikes.

Mr. R. Carr

Is the Prime Minister telling the House that the matter has been dealt with and that the industrial unrest which he said must be tackled last year is now better rather than worse than it was a year ago?

The Prime Minister

At the risk of quoting something that I said on television when I was asked this question a little earlier in the year, I pointed out a fact known to all right hon. and hon. Gentlemen opposite, namely, that this is a problem affecting all advanced countries and that it affects some of them far worse than ourselves. In facing this new militancy, as we are, a lot of measures are needed, both short and long-term. I can only tell the right hon. Gentleman, who seems to be hedging all the time—I am glad to say—on his measures, that his measures would lead to far more strikes. Indeed, Tory policies in operation in America have led to prolonged strikes of many months causing the loss of more man days than we lost in the whole of last year.