§ Ql. Dr. Gilbertasked the Prime Minister whether he had any official meetings with officers of the International Monetary Fund during his recent visit to Washington.
§ Q6. Mr. Sheldonasked the Prime Minister when he will seek to pay a visit to the headquarters of the International Monetary Fund.
§ The Prime Minister (Mr. Edward Heath)I did not meet officers of the International Monetary Fund when I was in Washington, nor do I plan to visit their headquarters.
§ Dr. GilbertThat is a pity, because no doubt the Prime Minister would have relished being able to tell the officials of the Fund that in 1970 we had a record balance of payments surplus compared with the last time when he was in a position to address them officially.
§ Mr. SpeakerOrder. Will the hon. Member now put a question?
§ Dr. GilbertIn the light of our balance of payments surplus and the present reliance on monetary policy, will the Prime Minister consider approaching the officials of the Fund for permission for a temporary flow of sterling to relieve the dilemmas of his present reliance on monetary policy?
§ The Prime MinisterNo, Sir. These matters are handled by my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer.
§ Mr. SheldonWhen the Prime Minister next visits the International Monetary Fund will he explain why, in his speech of 16th June last year, he said that the balance of payments was heading downhill and that the surplus would melt away in a matter of months—or were those words for domestic consumption only?
§ The Prime MinisterNo, Sir, because those words were correct. The figures showed it, and they could not be challenged at the time. The trend of those months was a running-down. I am glad now to welcome the fact that the balance of payments on current account last year was strong. I welcome it particularly, 804 as I know does the former Chancellor of the Exchequer, because it enables us to make progress in paying off the enormous debts left to us by the Labour Administration.
§ Mr. MartenWill the Prime Minister confirm that at the moment there is no conflict between the authorities of the I.M.F. and Her Majesty's Government on economic policies?
§ The Prime MinisterThat is correct. I know of no conflict between the I.M.F. and Her Majesty's Government.
§ Mr. Roy JenkinsAs it is clear from the figures already published that the balance of payments for the second half of 1970 will be even better than for the first half, and that the right hon. Gentleman was therefore clearly wrong in June, does he not now have the self-confidence to admit, without blustering, that he was mistaken on one point at least?
§ The Prime MinisterIf I had been mistaken in what I said at the time I would tell the right hon. Gentleman so, but he knows perfectly well that he could not prove that it was a mistake.
§ Mr. JenkinsReally!
§ The Prime MinisterThere is no point in the right hon. Gentleman slumping in his seat and saying, "Really". If he could have proved it at the time he would have done so. If not, he was failing in his duty both to his party and to the electorate.
§ Mr. Harold WilsonWe have now heard the right hon. Gentleman's idea of his duty to his party and the electorate, namely, to say things that are not true and to hope that they will not be denied. He has now twice said that when he told us what was false about the balance of payments, he was able to do it only because we did not have the figures for the second quarter to prove him wrong. Is he now saying that we did not have the figures then available and he relied on that to prove the deception?
§ The Prime MinisterNot in the least. I understood the right hon. Gentleman to be referring to the current account and not to the balance of payments, because he knows perfectly well that the complete balance of payments cannot yet be available.