§ Q2. Mr. Skinnerasked the Prime Minister if he plans to have further talks with the CBI.
§ The Prime MinisterI would refer my hon. Friend to the reply which I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Birmingham, Perry Bar (Mr. Rooker) on 27th June.—[Vol. 875, c. 512.]
§ Mr. SkinnerWhen my right hon. Friend next meets the CBI, should he not tell it not to smack its lips in anticipation of running "Great Britain Limited", because the only people who are now calling for a grand coalition are a bunch of Tory drop-outs? Does not my right hon. Friend agree that the greatest service he could render the country is to send the right hon. Member for Brighton, Pavilion (Mr. Amery), with all his Napoleonic illusions, to the Isle of Elba, provided he takes with him the right hon. Member for Chipping Barnet (Mr. Maudling) to travel round the Mediterranean selling hospitals?
§ The Prime MinisterSince Napoleon came back from Elba perhaps St. Helena might have been a better suggestion. As I shall be meeting some members of the CBI at the NEDC meeting tomorrow I am not sure that the form of words my hon. Friend seeks to put into my mouth would be appropriate to the meeting, but I shall consider what he said with the greatest of care—and, of course, discretion. My experience of the CBI, which I am sure is shared by right hon. and hon. Members in all parts of the House, is that I have never regarded it as a lip-smacking organisation—quite the contrary.
§ Mr. Jeffrey ArcherIf it were suggested by the CBI or TUC that the Prime Minister should co-operate in a Government of national unity, what would be his attitude?
§ The Prime MinisterI dealt with this matter at some length at the weekend. If it were to be a means by which either the Liberal Party or the Conservative 209 Party were to try to maximise votes for themselves, the whole country would refuse to be taken in by such a proposition.
§ Mr. GrimondWhom does the Prime Minister consult when he wants to know the views of small businesses and shopkeepers? Is he aware that to many of us the CBI is exclusively worried about the future nationalisation of big business but that there are many small businesses suffering from troubles which demand the attention of the Government and the House and which have existed for some years?
§ The Prime MinisterThat is a fair point which has been dealt with a few times recently at Question Time. I would not entirely agree that the CBI thinks only of big business. Many of its members who come to the quarterly meeting represent a large number of small firms. However, I agree with the right hon. Gentleman that a great deal of feverish activity has been whipped up about the anxieties of certain large firms and that far too little attention has been paid to small firms, many of whom took a heavy beating during the three-day week and found it difficult to recover. It is the duty of all of us to think how our policies can be oriented to help some of those small firms to expand their activities.