UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Q1. Mr. Wrigglesworth
asked the Prime Minister, if he will pay an official visit to the United States of America.
The Prime Minister (Mr. Harold Wilson)
I refer my hon. Friend to the reply that I gave to the hon. Member for Christchurch and Lymington (Mr. Adley) on 5th February, Sir.
Mr. Wrigglesworth
In view of the Right-Wing attacks being made on the policy of detente in the presidential campaign in the United States and by the Right-Wing in this country—though no general election campaign is taking place here—will my right hon. Friend bring his influence to bear on all parties concerned to ensure that the spirit of Helsinki is upheld?
The Prime Minister
The one thing on which we can all agree is that none of us wants to make remarks or get involved in the presidential and primary campaigns in the United States. On the question of parts of the Helsinki Agreement going beyond Europe—which is all it covers—I refer my hon. Friend to the speech of my right hon. Friend to the speech of my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary on Friday last week.
Mrs. Thatcher
Will Harold Wilsonthe Prime Minister discuss with our American allies a question that is deeply worrying many people, namely, whether Cuban troops and Soviet weapons are to be used in southern Africa beyond Angola to further Communism in Southern Africa, and also what steps should be taken now, in the British interest, to prevent that from happening?
The Prime Minister
Again, I refer the right hon. Lady to the public speech of the Foreign Secretary on these matters last Friday. The whole House will share the deep anxieties that exist about any extension of violence, for example, to Rhodesia. This stems from the fact that over 10 or 11 years there has been no response whatsoever, despite the votes of [column 1123]this House, from Mr. Ian Smith to suggestions for getting a reasonable settlement there. This is vitally urgent, and the Conservative Party has not always helped.
Mrs. Thatcher
Is the answer to my question “Yes” ? Will the Prime Minister take an initiative of the kind that I have suggested?
The Prime Minister
The answer is that the Foreign Secretary has already done so, both in Europe and more widely. Again, I refer the right hon. Lady to his speech on Friday.
Mr. McNamara
My right hon. Friend is right to draw the attention of the House to the speech of the Foreign Secretary, but may I draw his attention to the action of the President of the United States in not accepting the decision of the Senate to extend United States territorial sea limits to 200 miles? When my right hon. Friend meets President Ford, will he congratulate him on not taking premature action on this matter, and on waiting, instead, for the Law of the Sea Conference, but also impress upon him that when the extensions are made we shall have a 100-mile exclusive fishing zone for British fishermen?
The Prime Minister
My hon. Friend is right. Until the Law of the Sea Conference, no one should take unilateral action on this matter. I do not think I should comment on the last part of my hon. Friend's question, dealing with what might happen after the Conference.
Mr. Churchill
In view of the decisive victory achieved by Soviet/Cuban intervention in Angola, will the Prime Minister raise as a matter of urgency with the President of the United States the clear challenge to freedom, democracy and peace posed by the militarism and expansionism of the Soviet Union? Will he further make it clear that Great Britain would support the United States in any measure to cut off capital——
Mr. Speaker
Order.
Mr. Churchill
—grain and technology to the Soviet Union until they are prepared to move towards a genuine detenté? Tim Renton[column 1126]
was not carried away. I was responding there, and at Birmingham, to a very clear statement of increased confidence by business, and I gave the House last week the text of what business has in effect said. The hon. Gentleman might draw attention—and so might the whole Opposition—to the vast improvement in our balance of payments, which affects exchange rates and the rest. The deficit in the balance of payments, including oil, is now very much less than it was under the Conservatives in their last year before the oil crisis hit Britain.
Mr. Ashton
Did the Overseas Bankers Club confirm that general interest rates are falling and that one way of stimulating the construction industry and preventing unemployment would be to tell the building societies to cut their interest rate to 10 per cent?
The Prime Minister
The building societies have certainly had a record inflow and they have also been lending considerably. On housing generally, my hon. Friend will be aware that in 1974 there were 30 per cent. more public sector starts and 20 per cent. more completions than in 1973. For 1975, public sector starts—the highest since 1969—were 18 per cent. further up on 1974, and completions were 24 per cent. up. The figures for 1973 were the lowest since the end of the war, in certain aspects of housing.
Mr. Maurice Macmillan
As we appear to be doing so well, according to the Prime Minister, will he consider consulting our European partners and our American allies on the possibility of increasing aid to those countries, such as Zaire and Zambia, which appear to be most threatened by recent events in Angola, for the purpose of helping them in their difficulties and ensuring our future supplies of the raw materials that they provide?
The Prime Minister
Yes, Sir. As I have said on many occasions, I agree about the increased urgency because of recent events.
TUC AND CBI
Q4. Mr. Whitehead
asked the Prime Minister when he next expects to meet the General Council of the TUC.
[column 1127]The Prime Minister
I am frequently in touch with representatives of both the TUC and the CBI at NEDC and on other occasions. I shall be taking the chair at the next meeting of NEDC on 3rd March, Sir.
Mr. Whitehead
On that occasion will my right hon. Friend convey to the TUC the fact that the recent encouraging retail price index figures merit a tribute to the working people at all levels whose sacrifice has helped to bring about this abatement in inflation? Where does my right hon. Friend place the priority in the next stage of the incomes policy as between measures to stimulate investment and employment, particularly in productive industry, increases in the social services, and increases in net disposable income through the taxation system?
The Prime Minister
My hon. Friend is absolutely right; there has been a remarkable response to the policy approved by the House, upon which the Opposition did not vote—apart from voting on an amendment against it. It is impossible to separate the two issues of inflation and unemployment, whether nationally or internationally. I refer my hon. Friend to what the Chancellor of the Exchequer said not only in his statement last week but also in the speech that he made last Friday.
Mr. Wyn Roberts
At his meeting with the TUC will the Prime Minister explain to the TUC and the country how the Chancellor of the Exchequer can promise reductions in taxation in return for a low rate of wage increases before such an agreement has been reached with the trade unions?
The Prime Minister
I shall have no difficulty. In these matters the members of the TUC are much more literate than are hon. Gentlemen on the Opposition Benches.
Mr. Molloy
Does my right hon. Friend agree that because the Government have avoided deliberate confrontation with the TUC there has been remarkable co-operation in the fight against inflation, and that efforts are required from the CBI to back up the price restriction policy so that ordinary people can see that they are being given a fair deal for any sacrifices they make?
[column 1128]The Prime Minister
I have had full co-operation. What my hon. Friend said at the begining of his supplementary question is right. It is highly relevant to small businesses, on which I was questioned earlier. In the confrontation and the three-day working week imposed by the Conservative Government no one suffered more than small businesses.
LUXEMBOURG
Q5. Mr. Hurd
asked the Prime Minister when he next proposes to visit Luxembourg.
The Prime Minister
I shall be meeting Mr. Thorn, the Prime Minister of Luxembourg, when he visits London next week and I expect to see him again in Luxembourg at the next meeting of the European Council on 1st and 2nd April, Sir.
Mr. Hurd
Will the Prime Minister confirm that one of the most important subjects at that meeting in Luxembourg will be the proposals for a more efficient concerted European foreign policy? In view of the tense situation in Africa, will the Prime Minister, in advance of that meeting in Luxembourg and despite his complacent reply to my right hon. Friend the Leader of the Opposition, take an initiative now to bring about concerted Community policy on Southern Africa which might deter the Soviet Union and her friends from further adventures in that continent?
The Prime Minister
I entirely agree with the way in which the hon. Gentleman formulated that supplementary question. We are trying to achieve a common policy on these matters; indeed, a meeting is taking place today. It has been made a little difficult because we do not have full support for our insistence that the Nine should adopt a common policy in this respect.
Mr. Dalyell
Does the Prime Minister support the view that before anything is done in Brussels and facilities are eventually made available there, Luxembourg and not Strasbourg should be the sole seat of the European Parliament? Does he know that it costs £1 million a year simply to move documents, apart from the energy expended by senior [column 1129]officials in travelling between the three points?
The Prime Minister
One answer might be to have fewer documents, provided always that the documents I submitted for consideration after my talks with the German Federal Chancellor about the adoption of a system akin to that of our Public Accounts Committee—which would strengthen the work of the Assembly—are not lost in the process.
Sir D. Walker-Smith
Will the Prime Minister take the occasion, amongst other no doubt more important matters, of seeking courteously to instruct the spokesmen for the Council of Ministers in the European Parliament, by exhortation if not example, in the art of answering parliamentary questions shortly and succinctly?
The Prime Minister
That is, first, because I get such strange questions from some Opposition Members and, secondly, because I always like to inform the House as fully as possible.
Several Hon. Members
rose——
Mr. Speaker
Order. I am obliged to the House that we reached Question No. 5 to the Prime Minister today.