HC Deb 25 March 1976 vol 908 cc622-3
Q1. Mr. James Lamond

asked the Prime Minister if he will be addressing the Scottish Trades Union Congress in 1976.

The Prime Minister (Mr. Harold Wilson)

No, Sir.

Mr. Lamond

Would this not have been an excellent opportunity for my right hon. Friend to remind the Scottish Trades Union Congress that the solution to the problems facing the people of Scotland and elsewhere lies in the application of Socialist principles, and that the important thing for them is to see that these Socialist decisions are made—not the city in which they are made?

The Prime Minister

I agree totally with my hon. Friend on this question. I am sure that the majority of the Scottish people recognise this, just as they recognise, equally, that any vote on their part for the Scottish National Party is a vote for separatism.

Mr. Donald Stewart

When he meets the STUC, will the right hon. Gentleman congratulate it on its superior knowledge of the situation in Scotland, as compared with that of the Labour Party in Scotland? If he accepts that one Member in the House is a majority and a mandate, will he say whether that would apply if 36 SNP Members were elected to Westminster?

The Prime Minister

I am not sure that I follow the hon. Member. I am certainly clear that the Scottish TUC, which has played a very important rôle in matters affecting the future of Scotland, would be the first to agree with me that it is against separatism, which is the policy of the Scottish National Party.

Mr. Norman Lamont

The hon. Member for Oldham, East (Mr. Lamond) asked about Socialist principles. Would the Prime Minister care to say why the news of his resignation was greeted with a pin-striped panic and a short, sharp fall both in sterling and on the Stock Exchange? Was it, as some of his hon. Friends believe, because he is the most Conservative Prime Minister of all time, or was it the appalling prospect presented by any of the six people standing for the leadership today?

The Prime Minister

It is not for me to fathom the mystery of why people, sometime out of ignorance, occasionally out of malice, and sometimes out of perception, buy or sell shares on the Stock Exchange. My forecast was a fall of 15 per cent. and it was 15.7 per cent.