Confederation of British Industry (Hansard, 15 January 1979)

§ 8. Mr. Nelson
asked the Secretary of State for Industry when he intends next to meet the chairman of the Confederation of British Industry.

§ Mr. Varley
I meet the president and other leaders of the CBI at regular meetings of the NEDC.

§ Mr. Nelson
At his next meeting with the CBI, will the Secretary of State discuss the important recommendations of the Corfield report to the NEDC on improving industrial design? What is the right hon. Gentleman's response to suggestions that State financial assistance for capital investment might be partly replaced by assistance directed towards improving industrial design in this country?

§ Mr. Varley
The Corfield report was discussed at the last meeting of the NEDC and was very well received. Industrial design and product development are important features of our approach and I hope that we can carry them further within the NEDC. I have no hesitation in saying that if public funds are required we shall take sufficient powers to obtain them.

§ Mr. Heffer
When my hon. Friend sees the chairman of the CBI, will he urge him to ask the director general of the CBI to be a little cooler in his attitude to the industrial disputes which are taking place? Will my right hon. Friend tell the country that we are not in the middle of a great crisis which will lead to the creation of an East European State, as has been suggested byThe Daily Telegraph but that we are living in a country which is experiencing certain industrial upheavals due to strikes which can and will be solved with intelligent industrial discussions, rather than by the nonsense that we have been having from the press, the broadcasting media, the Tories and the employers in the last few days?

§ Mr. Varley
I have not listened to the radio or television and heard the comments of the director general of the CBI, although I have heard some of my colleagues commenting on them during the last few days. No doubt the director general will see reports of my hon. Friend's strictures. But it is true that we are not moving towards a sort of East European State, because, as I understand it, there are no strikes in East European countries.

§ Mr. Cormack
Does the Secretary of State agree with the director general of the CBI that there is a crisis?

§ Mr. Varley
No. What the hon. Gentleman has to bear in mind is that last year was a very good one for industrial policy. There was low inflation, there was growth in the economy, incomes were rising and our pound was stable. What the Government intend to get across over the next few days is that if we are to maintain that progress we need peace in industry. We can do that only by winning the support and co-operation of work people, and not by lambasting them in the House of Commons in the sense that the hon. Member for Chichester (Mr. Nelson) does.