§ Q1. Mr. William Hamiltonasked the Prime Minister what plans he has for participating in the negotiations on British entry to the European Economic Community.
§ The Prime Minister (Mr. Harold Wilson)I would refer my hon. Friend to my reply on 22nd January to a question by the hon. Member for Acton (Mr. Kenneth Baker).—[Vol. 794, c. 690.]
§ Mr. HamiltonI cannot readily recall that answer. Does not my right hon. Friend think it quite important that his own presence, especially in the early stages of negotiations, would impress upon our own people as well as people on the Continent the importance which we attach to getting the right conditions, particularly as regards the agricultural policy and the consequent food prices, and more particularly so in view of the tepid approach of my right hon. Friend the Minister without Portfolio in his speech last night in Manchester, which 1644 struck about the right chord in the view of many of us?
§ The Prime MinisterWe have not heard from the Common Market countries the basis on which they want negotiations to start, but I have heard no suggestions about what they call a summit meeting. If there were one, that would be different. I made clear in my answer that my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster will be in general charge of negotiations on the Continent, but of course he will operate under the control of my right hon. Friend the Foreign and Commonwealth Secretary.
With regard to what my hon. Friend wants to be said to them, we have made it clear that we must get the right terms to enter. I have made clear also in the debate that we are extremely anxious to get in, if we can get the right terms, and that we will proceed to negotiate with full determination to that end.
§ Mr. ThorpeCan the Prime Minister assure the House that, whoever else negotiates, the Minister without Portfolio will not be included in the team? Does the Prime Minister agree that his right hon. Friend's speech yesterday at best showed his total opposition to political involvement and, at worst, gave increasingly the impression that this Government cast themselves in the rôle of Mr. Facing-Both-Ways on Europe and will be largely and improperly influenced by electoral considerations?
§ The Prime MinisterThat is not how I read my right hon. Friend's speech. The position of the Government is clear. We are negotiating to get in with determination and, if the terms are right, we shall put a proposition to that effect before the House.
§ Mr. MoonmanWhile there will be satisfaction that my right hon. Friend has made the position clear, ought not he to recognise that there will be considerable anxiety in Europe about the remarks made last night by my right hon. Friend the Minister without Portfolio? One hopes that there will be no public discussion by Cabinet Ministers in future, even if they have private reservations.
§ The Prime MinisterThe position was made clear by the Government in the statement that I made when the White 1645 Paper was published. That was the decision of the Cabinet, and it carries the collective responsibility of the Cabinet. It was further developed in my statement in the House and those of my right hon. Friends the Foreign and Commonwealth Secretary and the Chancellor of the Exchequer.
§ Mr. PeelDoes the speech of the Minister without Portfolio last night, in which he said that the decision should not be left only to politicians, mean that the Prime Minister is considering a referendum on this in due course?
§ The Prime MinisterNo, Sir. It does not. I have not read the whole text of the speech, nor, I presume, have other hon. Members. I am informed by my right hon. Friend that in the questions which followed the speech that point was put to him, and he specifically ruled out any question of a plebiscite, which would equally cover the word "referendum". That is not our policy. My right hon. Friend was saying, as I have said, that this is a matter not only for Parilament but for public debate. We have continued the public debate by publishing the White Paper and giving the House not only in the White Paper but in other ways, all the information that we can on which this public debate can take place. However, as far as I know, there is no public debate at all about the fact that the negotiations should go on, and go on in a meaningful way.
§ Mr. HefferIs it not clear that the position is becoming more difficult because of the firm decision taken by the Six on the agricultural policy? Is it not clear, too, that the agricultural policy of the Common Market is not suitable to British conditions, and that there must be a renegotiation of this point in order for us to get into the Common Market?
§ The Prime MinisterWhile there have been continuing and protracted meetings of the Council of Ministers, the agricultural Ministers and others on certain internal matters, I am not aware—but I will check this—that any decision about agriculture or the agricultural financial policy has been taken by the Six since the House last debated these matters. All the considerations which would affect the minds of right hon. and hon. Members were fully deployed during that 1646 debate. We then knew all the facts that we know now on agriculture. The view of both Front Benches and other parts of the House was that obviously the question of agricultural financing represents one of the most central points in the negotiations. This does not mean that there has been anything to justify a change in our decision to enter into negotiations as quickly as possible and in a meaningful way.
§ Mr. PeytonWill the Prime Minister say to what extent he considers the result in the marginal seat at South Ayrshire to have been attributable to the outright opposition to this country's entry into the Common Market by the Socialist candidate?
§ The Prime MinisterI never speculate on particular by-election results. The hon. Gentleman can take as much comfort from the South Ayrshire result as he finds appropriate.