§ Q2. Mr. Wyn Robertsasked the Prime Minister if he will list his engagements for 24th January.
§ The Prime MinisterThis morning I held ministerial meetings and attended the memorial service for Lady Spencer-Churchill. In addition to my duties in this House, I shall be holding further meetings with ministerial colleagues this 1173 afternoon. This evening I am looking forward to attending a reception in the consituency of my hon. Friend the Member for Lambeth, Central (Mr. Lipton) to celebrate more than 32 years' service by him as the Member of Parliament.
§ Mr. RobertsNo doubt in the course of his very full day the Prime Minister will not neglect to study the unemployment figures, which show an increase of 67,000 and are again above the 1½ million mark. When will he reduce the figures to the 600,000 that his Government inherited?
§ The Prime MinisterThe unemployment figures published today show little change on the seasonally-adjusted figures—namely. a fall of 1,000. One of the encouraging factors—I hope that the House will feel that this is useful—is that unfilled vacancies have increased: the corresponding seasonally-adjusted figure has risen by much more than normal. I hope that this portends the beginning of the upward turn in the economy that the boost which has been put into it by the Chancellor's tax measures and reductions over the past six months should portend. I believe that that is so, but it would be wrong to assume that in a period of world recession this country will be exempt from consequences that are felt elsewhere.
§ Mrs. JegerWill my right hon. Friend find time to meet the Prime Minister of Belize and assure him that Her Majesty's Government have no intention of agreeing to the carve-up of the territory of Belize against the wishes of her Government, her people, the United Nations and the Commonwealth Prime Ministers?
§ The Prime MinisterMy right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs will be meeting the Premier of Belize. I assure the House that the Premier and the Opposition in Belize have attended all the discussions that have taken place with Guatemala on the future of Belize and its attempt to secure independence. Everything that has happened in those negotiations is known to them. I indicated to the Commonwealth Prime Ministers at the conference in London last June that no decision would be taken without the full consent of the people of Belize. There is no need for alarm on this matter, despite the alarmist and untruthful headline that has appeared in one newspaper.
§ Mrs. ThatcherI should like to return to the matter raised by my hon. Friend the Member for Conway (Mr. Roberts). Will the Prime Minister explain why his policies have resulted not only in 1½ million people being out of work but in a large number of jobs for which skilled people are required but are not available? How has he managed to achieve the disastrous double of 1½ million unemployed and a shortage of skilled labour?
§ The Prime MinisterThe Conservative Party's document "The Right Approach", which I study with great care and frequency, told us that the fundamental weakness of the British economy in failing to be competitive was deep seated and could not be removed in less than a decade. Therefore, as the right hon. Lady knows perfectly well, it is sheer party politics to suggest that the unemployment that is sweeping the Western world is due to the policies of Her Majesty's Government.
The right hon. Lady is misinformed about the last part of her question. I have had a number of inquiries made into the kind of statements made by the right hon. Lady about the shortage of skilled labour.
§ Mr. TebbitMy right hon. Friend is always right. The right hon. Gentleman is always wrong.
§ The Prime MinisterThe hon. Member for Chingford (Mr. Tebbit) should cease to be the right hon. Lady's lapdog.
I have had a number of inquiries made into this matter. There have been specific examples of shortages of skilled men, but the result of the last inquiries that I made, which were literally only a week ago and were conducted on a pretty broad basis, is that, generally speaking, although there are specific shortages in a few areas, there is no overall shortage of skilled men. The Government's training programme—the largest such programme ever undertaken—is overhauling any specific shortages. That is one reason why the economy must be allowed to expand at a steady rate and not get into the spasm that we had during the early 1970's when we had the boom and bust. That is what I am determined to resist.
§ Mrs. ThatcherIs the Prime Minister aware that, if our problems are deep-seated, one reason is that the Labour 1175 Party has been in power for 10 out of the last 13 years? Whatever excuses he may give, he cannot run away from the fact that our policies did not produce unemployment whereas his policies have. The right hon. Gentleman will go down in history as the Prime Minister of unemployment.
§ The Prime MinisterI do not know where the right hon. Lady found that last phrase, but I am sure it will get a headline somewhere. However, it will not alter the fundamental appreciation of the British people of the realities of the situation. If it is of any comfort to the right hon. Lady, I should like to make a prophecy. I have a feeling that we shall be in power for the next 10 years too.
§ Mr. ThorpeI should like to revert to the Prime Minister's answer on Belize, to which the House listened with great interest. Is he able to go further and assert that Her Majesty's Government have no intention of ceding any part of existing Belizean territory either to Guatemala or to Mexico?
§ The Prime MinisterI do not want to go as far as that at the present time. [HON. MEMBERS: "Oh."] We must pay some regard to the views of the Premier, as well as the Opposition, in Belize about its future. Therefore, it would be improper for the House of Commons to make a declaration on anything connected with this matter, except to say, as I have done and I repeat, that we want the agreement of the people of Belize before we take any action.
The problem is very difficult and it is right that the Government should attempt to solve it. Belize wants independence. If it became independent without a guaranteed border and a proper peace treaty with Guatemala, in view of the disparate size of the two countries Belize would be in great trouble.
Our objective is to try to bring that country to full independence as soon as we can in conditions that will guarantee its future. The Premier of Belize and his colleagues must consider and take their decision on those conditions. Clearly, it would be difficult to ask the House or the country to assume responsibility for the defence of Belize after it became independent. Therefore, we must try to secure its frontiers before it becomes independent.
§ Mr. MaddenWill my right hon. Friend take time to look at last year's trade figures, which in volume terms show that exports rose by 8 per cent. whereas imports rose by 14 per cent., thereby equalising the balance of payments gains from North Sea oil? Will he tell his Ministers this afternoon that much greater efforts must be made in import substitution if we are to reverse this trend?
§ The Prime MinisterI believe that the figures rose on manufactured, not total, imports. In fact, there was a balance heavily in favour of an increase in the volume of exports during that period, but we need to continue to increase it.
§ Mr. John DaviesI do not think that the Prime Minister's remarks about Belize entirely reassured the House. Will he categorically assure the House that there has been no negotiation to partition Belize among the neighbouring countries with the threat of refusing to defend that colony in the event of its not agreeing to such an arrangement?
§ The Prime MinisterI hope that the House will not be misled by the story which appeared in one newspaper this morning, part of which was totally untrue. The rest of it, when one read it carefully, was a sort of mood music piece. I have completely revealed to the House the discussions that are going on. the nature of the problem and the assurances that have been given. I ask the House to be satisfied with that.