MT
But I'm not sure it's been offered an agreement by the TUC. You see on the pay side it looks to me as if the aspiration's fine. We'd all like to get down to 5 per cent inflation. But the question is whether the policies are there to do it. After all when I came into the House—some twenty years ago—we had on average about two and a half per cent inflation a year and we thought that high. So it's not a question of aspirations, it's a question of what's the gap between what they say and what they're going to do.
Julian Haviland, ITN
But isn't the proposal in this document for an annual assessment by government and industry of the prospects for the economy—isn't that very much like the annual forum that you've been talking about?
MT
That particular thing I think you'll find comes from The Right Approach to the Economy which came out two years ago. I'm always pleased if they try to steal a few of my clothes.
Julian Haviland, ITN
Well they've stolen several others, haven't they, which you didn't acknowledge in the Commons today. The TUC has urged that ballots should be held when a strike is contemplated. Isn't that fundamental?
MT
Indeed, but the government does not propose to introduce any legislation for government to pay the postal cost of such ballots, and it would have been better if it had.