§ 02. Mr. Tebbitasked the Prime Minister if the public speech of the Secretary of State for Employment, made in London on 1st March on economic matters, represents Government policy.
§ 06. Mr. Tim Rentonasked the Prime Minister whether the speech on economic matters of the Secretary of State for Employment in London on 1st March represents Government policy.
§ The Prime MinisterI refer the hon. Members to the reply which I gave to the hon. Member for Stretford (Mr. Churchill) on 18th March.
§ Mr. TebbitWill the Prime Minister tell us, therefore, whether expressions like "irresponsible lunacy to ignore the effect of pay rises ", which I understand was used by the Chancellor, are also to be described as economic illiteracy? Perhaps, if the expression may be used without offence, the Prime Minister might scotch some of the rumours that he is a bit soft on pay restraint.
§ The Prime MinisterI answered the first question a fortnight ago. As to the hon. Gentleman's funny joke, which I shall laugh at for pretty well the rest of the day, I remember seeing it in a letter in the Daily Telegraph or The Guardian two days after my answer.
§ Mr. George GrantDoes my right hon. Friend agree that while the social contract has had some degree of success, generally speaking there has been and is a lack of responsibility towards it? Does he agree that there is need of an urgent review of the social contract to make the position much stronger and much firmer and to make its lines of definition much clearer?
§ The Prime MinisterI think that my hon. Friend heard my speech to the trade union group of my hon. Friends a couple of weeks ago. He will remember that on that occasion I said that the social contract had been fully honoured by the Government and that in the light of that we were entitled not merely to ask trade union leaders, who have shown great courage in the matter, to support it, but to ask more of their individual members to rally round those leaders.
§ Mr. RentonHas any country whose inflation rate has been more than 20 per cent. ever succeeded in bringing it down without suffering financial disaster first?
§ The Prime MinisterThe forecast for inflation that we had when we came into office produced figures very similar to what has happened. For various reasons, including the necessity to clear up the whole three-day-week mess created by the Conservatives, but for our actions on price control, subsidies and housing the 1850 situation would have been even worse than was forecast a year ago.
§ Mr. WellbelovedDoes my right hon. Friend agree that Opposition Members would do better to have the courtesy to listen to speeches by Ministers from the Dispatch. Box and get their political education in that way rather than to rely on the guidelines of abbreviated Press reports?
§ The Prime MinisterThat is possibly very valuable advice to Opposition Members. We all want to assist in their education, but it is inevitably a slow process.
§ Mr. PeytonThe Prime Minister's revelations of past events are, as ever, fascinating. Will he now apply himself to the future and answer the question asked by my hon. Friend the Member for Mid-Sussex (Mr. Renton)?
§ The Prime MinisterThe answer certainly is that we can and shall bring down the rate of inflation without economic disaster. However, we reject the policies advanced by leading Conservatives who say that it can be done by monetarist means, producing more unemployment.