HC Deb 22 March 1979 vol 964 cc1670-2
4. Mr. Skinner

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he expects next to meet his EEC counterparts; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Healey

I next expect to meet Community Finance Ministers at the meeting of the Finance Council in Brussels on 14 May.

Mr. Skinner

Will my right hon. Friend remind the other Ministers that when Britain refused to join the European monetary system the pound went up in value in relation not only to the dollar but to the franc and the mark? Will he point out that when my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister decided to attack the EEC budget contributions it went up again? Is it not clear that every time we make these anti-Market moves we improve the chances not only of the pound in relation to these other currencies, but of my right hon. Friend the Chancellor staying in his job?

Mr. Healey

I do not know with what equanimity I can contemplate the fate that my hon. Friend has mapped out for me for the long-term. However, what he says is true. The pound has been strong in relation to other currencies for the past two months. I do not think that that has been because we decided not to join the EMS. It has been because we have been following fiscal and monetary policies which form a shining contrast to those of the Conservative Party. I note what my hon. Friend says about the Community itself.

Mr. Alan Clark

Why does the Chancellor not refer the hon. Member for Bolsover (Mr. Skinner), who relates anti-European measures to the strength of the pound, to the hon. Member for Southampton, Test (Mr. Gould) who is also anti-European and believes that the value of the pound should be reduced by stages?

Mr. Healey

I have every confidence that my hon. Friend the Member for Bolsover (Mr. Skinner) will ensure that those who otherwise share his views will share his view on the value of a strong and stable pound.

Mr. Gould

Is my right hon. Friend aware that if it were not for our £1,000 million contribution to the EEC budget our EEC colleagues would have to find that sum for themselves, and that if we were not consuming EEC food surpluses at twice the world price those surpluses would be even more expensive to dispose of? Since the Common Market could not survive without our participation, will my right hon. Friend ignore the feeble faint hearts on the Opposition Front Bench and recognise the strength of our negotiating position?

Mr. Healey

I am grateful to my hon. Friend the Member for Southampton, Test (Mr. Gould) for not raising the question of the exchange rate. That must be a record in the House in recent years. I thank him for asking me to perservere in doing good, which I certainly propose to do. I assure him that I persistently ignore the faint hearts on the Opposition Front Bench and shall continue to do so for many years to come.

Mr. Lawson

Why are the Government refusing to pay contributions on the basis of the EEC's 1979 budget, as enlarged by the European Assembly, since it was only the Chief Secretary's refusal to veto that enlargement that allowed it through in the first place? Did the Chief Secretary by any chance make a blunder?

Mr. Healey

It is absolutely inconceivable that my right hon. Friend should have made a blunder, but as the hon. Member for Blaby (Mr. Lawson) knows, from the nature of his question, we, along with several other countries, are refusing to make a contribution which would otherwise be made because we do not accept the view that the Assembly has determined the nature of the current budget. We shall be sorting out that question in the near future.

The hon. Member seems to be suffering from some defect in his arm which causes him to raise it and shiver it. No doubt you will take note of his behaviour, Mr. Speaker, and act accordingly.

Mr. Speaker

If matters go on like this much longer I shall suffer from the same weakness.