§ 12. Mr. MarlandTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the growth in output over the last five years for which figures are available in the United Kingdom and other EEC countries.
§ Mr. Norman LamontThe United Kingdom, together with Spain, has grown faster than any other EC country except Luxembourg.
§ Mr. MarlandWhile thanking my right hon. Friend for that encouraging answer, does he remember the late 1970s when Britain was branded the poor man of Europe? Does his answer not underline the vigour of our economy and give the lie to so much that Opposition Members say about the economy?
§ Mr. LamontMy hon. Friend draws attention to the fact that during the 1960s and 1970s Britain was bottom of the growth league, but during the 1980s our growth rate has out-performed that of all other EC countries. That is certainly something of which we should be proud.
Mr. HeiferIs the right hon. Gentleman aware that the last Labour Government inherited the economy from the Conservative Government and that private industry was collapsing on a massive scale? The Tory Government had to take over Rolls-Royce and we had to take over British Leyland and British Steel because they had collapsed. In addition, we had to take over the shipbuilding industry because it had collapsed. There would have been no industry had it not been for the Labour Government—[Interruption.] Oh yes. We have now had a Tory Government for 10 years and industry is collapsing on a bigger scale than ever before.
§ Mr. LamontThe trouble with the hon. Gentleman's argument is that the failures of the Labour party in Government did not apply just to the last Labour Government but to the Labour Government before that, the one before that and to all Labour Governments.