§ Q4. Mr. Spearingasked the Prime Minister if he will give the details of the official articles or published papers he has written on matters relating to his responsibilities since assuming office.
§ The Prime MinisterNone, Sir.
§ Mr. SpearingWould the Prime Minister recognise that that is a disappointing reply? Would he also read certain articles relating to his responsibilities? Is he not aware that, in last week's Labour Weekly, which he should have read, an article showed that, had the miners accepted the £2 offer of the Coal Board, by April, when the Government have erected their means test barriers, some of them would be taking home less pay? Would he not agree that, if the Government persist in putting up means-test barriers to people on low or medium incomes, this will inevitably mean large wage claims?
§ The Prime MinisterI have written no articles, as I told the hon. Gentleman. I am certainly not responsible for that which he mentions.
§ Rear-Admiral Morgan-GilesWill my right hon. Friend write an article on law and order? Will he, in this article, draw attention to the curious position of the Leader of the Opposition who a moment ago said that the miners should go back to work pending a settlement, whereas five minutes ago I heard him in the Grand Committee Room assuring the miners of the fullest support in their struggle and congratulating them on the demonstration now illegally taking place in Parliament Square?
§ The Prime MinisterIt is not for me to explain the inner contradictions of the Leader of the Opposition.
§ Mr. Harold WilsonIs the Prime Minister aware that there is no contradiction? The hon. and gallant Member for Winchester (Rear-Admiral Morgan-Giles) has an accurate report of what I said in Great Westminster Hall at 3.10 p.m. We have backed the miners in this, we have backed them in this House in our votes and we shall continue to back them. What we cannot understand is the contradiction of the right hon. Gentleman himself whose only intervention in this dispute was last Friday at a Conservative meeting in Liverpool, but I asked him to intervene on Saturday and settle the dispute.
§ The Prime MinisterWhatever the Leader of the Opposition may or may not have said, I see that the National Executive of the Labour Party yesterday passed a resolution giving full support to the miners—[HON. MEMBERS: "Hear, hear."] I am not sure whether it was the original 35 per cent. claim or the present 25 per cent. claim to which that resolution referred. Whichever it may be, it is not possible to give full support to that claim and at the same time to pretend that one is against inflation and unemployment.