§ 1. Mr. Greenwayasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will give the average annual rate of inflation for 1979 to 1982 compared with 1974 to 1977.
§ The Chief Secretary to the Treasury (Mr. Leon Brittan)The average annual rate of inflation between May 1979 and May 1982 was 14.2 per cent. From February 1974 to February 1977 the averge annual rate of inflation was 19.6 per cent.
§ Mr. GreenwayDoes my right hon. and learned Friend agree that those figures speak volumes for the value of a Conservative Government as against a Socialist Government? What effects will that have on Britain's future and its position in the world?
§ Mr. BrittanThe continued fall in inflation is the biggest single contribution that we can make towards sustained recovery. It will improve our competitiveness and the prospect of lower interest rates.
Mr. EggerI welcome my right hon. and learned Friend's reply, but will he confirm that if we are to sustain the fall, not only in inflation but in interest rates, it is essential that the Government do everything in their power to limit increases in public sector wages?
§ Mr. BrittanI readily confirm that.
§ Mr. FlanneryIn his last answer the Chief Secretary mentioned the continued fall in inflation, but he neglected to mention the catastrophic rise in unemployment. Will he tell us something about that?
§ Mr. BrittanWhen I am asked I will—
§ Mr. FlanneryI am asking.
§ Mr. BrittanThere is no shortage of questions on unemployment on the Order Paper. This question is about inflation.