PRIME MINISTER (ENGAGEMENTS) (Hansard, 9 May 1978)

§ Q1. Mr. Kilroy-Silk
asked the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for 8th May.

§ The Prime Minister (Mr. James Callaghan)
In addition to my duties in this House, I shall be holding meetings with ministerial colleagues and others. I shall also be meeting the northern regional council of the TUC.

§ Mr. Kilroy-Silk
Will my right hon. Friend take the opportunity today to give an assurance that neither he nor the Government will be deflected from continuing the fight against unemployment and inflation by the kind of cynical opportunism which was displayed by the Opposition last night? Will he give a further assurance that, if there are to be further Budget measures, the emphasis will be on increasing public expenditure and, therefore, creating jobs and not upon tax cuts for the rich, a large proportion of which goes into imports?

§ The Prime Minister
Yes, I give my hon. Friend the assurance for which he asked in the first part of his question. Concerning tax cuts, my right hon. Friend the Chancellor thought that he had gone as far as was prudentially correct, but the Opposition behaved with their usual irresponsibility last night. Clearly, the Government have to accommodate that as best they can. The Chancellor said that he would have to see how the situation developed. There are many uncertainties in the financial situation at the present time. But, if it is necessary for my right hon. Friend to take further 969 steps, he will have to do so. In the meantime, I note that once again the Opposition seem to be reverting to the fiscal irresponsibility that they showed between 1972 and 1974.

§ Mrs. Thatcher
If the Prime Minister thinks that 33p in the pound as the basic rate of income tax is irresponsible, why does he not take the only course possible to change that basic rate—namely, to put down an amendment on Report to reverse the decision and to treat that amendment as a matter of confidence?

§ Mr. Woodall
You put it down, if you dare.

§ The Prime Minister
That is a very interesting and extremely ingenious suggestion, which is what I expect from the right hon. Lady. I shall give it very careful consideration.

§ Mr. Bagier
When my right hon. Friend meets the northern regional council of the TUC this afternoon, will he explain that he fully understands that the real reason for unemployment in the region is of a structural character and that it can be put right only by public expenditure in the region? Will he further explain how the policy of the Opposition, including the Leader of the Opposition, could only damage that prospect?

§ The Prime Minister
It is clear that some of the older industrial regions, such as the North-East, the North-West, Scotland and Wales are having serious structural problems because of the decline of traditional industries, such as shipbuilding, steel, textiles, clothing and others. I think that this is well understood by the trade unionists who will be coming to see me, but, with respect to my hon. Friend, I think that they will be more concerned to discuss the ways in which we can get into the 1980s by means of fresh training for skill and bringing in new industries than to discuss the nostrums of the Opposition.

§ Mr. Ridley
Has the Prime Minister got time today to accept my congratulations on setting up an early warning system controlled by MI5 and the counter-espionage section of MI6 to combat growing Communist influence within the Labour Party? If he is prepared to use public money for this particular purpose, 970 will he make sure that the results are also made public?

§ The Prime Minister
Congratulations to me from the hon. Member for Cirencester and Tewkesbury (Mr. Ridley) are rather like snowflakes in July. I am happy to accept congratulations on every occasion, but I fear that they will have to be on something a little more tangible than the fragile hypothesis on which the hon. Member framed them on this occasion.