PRIME MINISTER (ENGAGEMENTS) (Hansard, 2 March 1978)

§ Q1. Mr. Tim Smith
asked the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Thursday 2nd March.

§ The Prime Minister (Mr. James Callaghan)
This morning I presided at a meeting of the Cabinet. In addition to my duties in this House, I shall be holding further meetings with ministerial colleagues and others.

§ Mr. Smith
Has the Prime Minister noted the apology offered to the House on Tuesday by the Secretary of State for Employment for using incorrect international unemployment comparisons? Since the Prime Minister has joined the Secretary of State for Employment—[HON. MEMBERS: "Reading."]—in quoting bogus unemployment statistics, will he also give the House an apology? In addition, will he now concede that the Government are using unfair comparisons and that our unemployment is 657 higher than that of any of our inter-rational competitors?

§ The Prime Minister
No, Sir. My right hon. Friend took a table out of Hansard and found that he used an incorrect basis. He then wrote to the hon. Gentleman who had raised the matter with him, and he apologised. He then made a full statement in the House. There is really no more to be said than that.

§ Mr. Norman Atkinson
Has the Prime Minister had time to read the statement made yesterday by the Chancellor to a meeting of Neddy in which he said that he thought he would not be able to reflate the economy at a sufficient speed to restore full employment and higher wages in this country for fear of sucking in an import boom? Does it appear to the Prime Minister that we are now to sacrifice full employment and higher wages for the dubious benefits of free trade? Will he therefore discuss internationally the whole question of the world planning of trade in order that the Chancellor of the Exchequer can do something about the restoration of full employment?

§ The Prime Minister
The Government are extremely active internationally in trying to reconcile the different objectives of a number of Governments. For example, the German Government believe that the maintenance of the present rate of inflation is their prior commitment. The American Government want to see a faster rate of growth despite the effect on the dollar. These international matters are causing a loss of confidence, as I have constantly said, among industrialists in the Western world. The sooner that we can resolve them, the better.

§ Mrs. Thatcher
To return to the Prime Minister's previous reply on unemployment, may I ask whether he now accepts that the Labour Government's record on unemployment is worse than that of most of our industrial competitors? I think that he must, because I believe that his right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Unemployment does, and that was really the point of his apology. If so, does the Prime Minister agree that the countries which have put competitiveness at the top of their lists of priorities have done better on unemployment than we have, because they have fewer people 658 out of work and they have got both our customers and our jobs? What is his policy for enabling British industry to become more competitive?

§ The Prime Minister
I notice that the right hon. Lady now uses the word "most". In fact, our biggest competitor in Western Europe has a comparatively worse record on unemployment than we have. I refer to Germany, where unemployment has increased by four times since 1973. [Interruption.] That is the prime exemplar—

Hon. Members
How many?

§ Mr. Speaker
Order.

§ The Prime Minister
Whatever may be said, I promise you, Mr. Speaker, that it does not disturb me in the slightest. Germany, of course, is the prime exemplar of the market economy to which the right hon. Lady refers. Its unemployment record is much worse than ours by comparison. [HON. MEMBERS: "Give the figure."] If hon. Members want the figure, they should put down a Question. If they insist on pressing me, allow me to continue. In 1973 it was 0.8 per cent. in Western Germany and it is now 3.5 per cent. This deterioration is much worse than that experienced by this country. No shouting by hon. Members can alter that figure.
It is all very well for the Leader of the Opposition to shed tears about unemployment. Every aspect of Conservative policy would add to that. What is more, the Opposition have even had the effrontery to complain that redundancy payments are paid when people lose their jobs.

§ Mrs. Thatcher
It is because we put down Written Questions and got Written Answers that I use these figures to ask the question. On 4th October 1977 the German unemployment rate was 3.5 per cent. and the comparable rate in Britain was 7.2 per cent. in the same circumstances of world trade. Will the Prime Minister answer the original question? Does he accept that those countries that have concentrated on being competitive have taken our customers and our jobs? When will he accept the blame for this situation, which is due to the country having a Labour Government for four years?

§ The Prime Minister
I do not think that the right hon. Lady even believes what she is saying. It is, of course, correct that the total numbers unemployed in Germany and Britain are now closer together than they were. That is to say, the figure is rather over 1 million in Germany and under 1½ million in this country. The figure for Britain is now going down. As to the creation of jobs, it is precisely because of the need for the industrial strategy to make this country more productive when it has been less productive than Germany in the last 20 to 25 years that I would at some time invite the Opposition to consider calmly and quietly how they can help us in this task.