European Economic Community (Hansard, 9 December 1974)

§ 1. Mr. George Gardiner
asked the Secretary of State for Industry what further consultations he has had with the CBI on the question of Great Britain's membership of the EEC.

§ The Secretary of State for Industry (Mr. Anthony Wedgwood Benn)
The CBI has not sought consultations with me on this issue though I know its views and I am always willing to have discussions with it if it wishes.

§ Mr. Gardiner
Will the right hon. Gentleman now consider drawing together all the views and representations he has received on this question for publica- 2 tion, together with his comments, so that we can all be better informed on the merits of the Common Market question? Furthermore, can he say whether, of all the representations he has received from individual industries and trade associations, there is one industry which believes that it would be better off outside the European Community rather than inside it?

§ Mr. Benn
I do not think it is for me to act as a point of collection of public expression and views on this matter since it concerns many Departments, and, as the hon. Gentleman knows, the decision will be taken not by me or the Cabinet but by the British people through the ballot box. As to the views of industry, this depends entirely on how one defines the term "industry". The TUC and the unions composing it have already expressed their views on the matter and these will be taken into account.

§ Mr. Jay
Has my right hon. Friend noticed that the TUC has been consistently right in its forecasts of the economic effects of membership, particularly on the trade balance, and that the CBI has been consistently wrong?

§ Mr. Benn
Though I am tempted by my right hon. Friend, I would not want to set myself up as a judge between those two bodies as to the accuracy of their forecasts. But the CBI and the TUC will both be able to express their views to the British people on the occasion when the British people reach a decision.

§ Mr. Gordon Wilson
Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that there are not always benefits which flow from the EEC and, in particular, that an application has been made by the British Steel Corporation to the EEC for permission to acquire the firm of Johnson Firth Brown, and that this application has been successful on condition that there will be a disposal of the assets of Beardmore, which is a member of the group? Is he further aware that as a result of the restricted permission given by the EEC and its unwarranted interference in the industrial affairs of the United Kingdom 1,200 jobs may be lost to the Scottish steel industry?

§ Mr. Benn
I am well aware of the case, but there is another question on the Order Paper relating to the BSC and I may have an opportunity to answer this point later. However, it is true that in taking Britain into the EEC the Conservative Government handed over to the Commission effective power over the British steel industry.

§ Mr. Heseltine
If the right hon. Gentleman does not think that it is his task to represent industry's views within the Government on this critical matter, which Minister does he think should do so?

§ Mr. Benn
British industrialists have not been slow in putting their views forward, and I doubt whether the CBI would welcome me as an advocate of its views. The Conservative Government having broken their clear pledge that the full-hearted consent of the British Parliament and people would be obtained, the Tories should now recognise for the first time that they should address themselves to the British people, who have the final decision to make.

§ 7. Mr. William Hamilton
asked the Secretary of State for Industry what representations he has received from industrialists concerning United Kingdom membership of the EEC.

§ Mr. Benn
My Department has received many representations directly from industrialists and through their respective trade associations.

§ Mr. Hamilton
Can my right hon. Friend confirm the figures given by the 4 Chancellor of the Exchequer at the Labour Party Conference that, whatever we may think about private enterprise, seven out of every 10 jobs in this country are within the private sector and that the majority of those industrialists want to stay within the EEC, and not least the Scottish industrialists? Does my right hon. Friend go along with the Prime Minister's view, and, in the event, as seems likely now, that we shall get favourable terms in our renegotiation, will he join the Prime Minister in recommending our maintaining membership of the EEC?

§ Mr. Benn
I fully support every word said by the Prime Minister in his recent speech on this matter, including the fact that the decision will be taken by the British people.

§ Mr. Adley
The Secretary of State said just now that it was not the management of the British Steel Corporation which would take the decision but that it was for him and Parliament. By what means other than through him does the industry to which the hon. Member for Wife, Central (Mr. Hamilton) has just referred have to make representations in order to ensure that they are listened to with the due attention that they deserve in view of the numbers of people the industry employs?

§ Mr. Benn
Dr. Finniston will have one vote in the ballot box, like the hon. Gentleman and myself.

§ Mr. Skinner
Will my right hon. Friend make it absolutely clear to my hon. Friend the Member for Fife, Central (Mr. Hamilton) that the referendum is not to be restricted to people like those he mentioned—to industrialists and to the 89 who on 28th October 1971 brought us to these sorry days?

§ Mr. Benn
I do not think I should be tempted by my hon. Friend to go into the background. The plain truth is that the British people are now to be given the right to make this decision. It was on this basis that all my hon. Friends and I were elected to Parliament, and this is the debt of honour that we owe to the people to whom we gave that pledge.