§ 14. Mr. WinnickTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations he has received from the Confederation of British Industry over the state of the economy.
§ Mr. Norman LamontThe CBI submitted a paper for the National Economic Development Council's discussion on the outlook for the economy on 10 January.
§ Mr. WinnickIs it true that privately the CBI is told that it is all the fault of the previous Chancellor? How much longer can the right hon. Member for Blaby (Mr. Lawson) be held responsible for the economic mess when the responsibility clearly falls upon the entire Government, not least the Prime Minister?
§ Mr. LamontThe CBI fully supports the Government's policy. The CBI strongly believes that the most important thing is to reduce inflation, and therefore it supports the Government's policy. The hon. Gentleman talks as though the CBI was somehow the friend of the Labour party. He may have noticed that the other day the Director-General of the CBI said that the last decade had been the best 10 years he had ever known for business in this country.
§ Sir William ClarkWill my right hon. Friend ask the CBI what the state of the economy would be if the Labour promises were put into effect?
§ Mr. LamontI certainly do not need to ask the CBI because we all know what the effect would be. The only trouble is that during the debate on the public expenditure White Paper the hon. Member for Derby, South (Mrs. Beckett) still refused to answer questions on the cost of Labour's programme and on how much would it put up taxes.