§ 40. Mr. Moateasked the Paymaster General what measures have been initiated by him to improve the image of the Common Market in the United Kingdom, and why.
§ Mr. MaudeIn consultation with my right hon. Friend the Lord Privy Seal, I have been concerned to help publicise the facts about the economic, political and other implications of Community membership, particularly for British industry and commerce. The reason for this is to let people know the facts and to dispel some of the illusions that adverse propaganda has implanted.
§ Mr. MoateDoes my right hon. Friend agree that, by her determination and success in the matter of Budget refunds, the Prime Minister has demonstrated that what the Common Market needs is not propaganda but fundamental and genuine reform? Will my right hon. Friend tell the House whether it is the Government's policy, particularly with regard to the speeches of the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, enthusiastically to defend the common agricultural policy, or fundamentally to reform it?
§ Mr. MaudeI am not concerned, nor are any of my right hon. Friends, with propaganda, but simply with making the facts available. What the Prime Minister has 623 done, and what all my colleagues have done, is to try to call attention to those aspects of Community policy that do not serve the interests of this country and to get them changed. What my right hon. Friend the Minister of 624 Agriculture has continually said is that the principles of the common agricultural policy and the purposes for which it was set up are right, but that what is required is a complete review of the financial ways in which it is functioning.