James Callaghan – 1977 Response to the No Confidence in the Government Motion
The speech made by James Callaghan, the then Prime Minister, in the House of Commons on 23 March 1977.
I listened to the right hon. Lady’s essay with considerable interest. It was a series of generalisations which, while certainly interesting, were perhaps not altogether novel. As her complaint against me and the bill of indictment built up minute after minute, until I was almost overwhelmed, I felt like repeating the immortal words of Adlai Stevenson” If the right hon. Lady will stop telling untruths about me, I promise not to tell the truth about her.”
However, in the series of generalisations to which the House was treated I did not find any particular thread that led me to discover how the Conservative Party would deal with the issues of the day. At the end of the right hon. Lady’s speech I was still not clear whether it was the policy of the right hon. Member for Leeds, North-East (Sir K. Joseph) that would prevail on public expenditure. I was still not quite clear, on the matter of incomes policy, whether it was the good sense of the right hon. Member for Lowestoft (Mr. Prior) or the attitude of the right hon. Member for Leeds, North-East that would prevail.
I have no idea what they would do about industrial strategy or securing industrial regeneration. Nor was there any indication of how they would see Britain’s social progress. There was none of that. I say to those who are not just blind followers of the right hon. Lady that before they vote tonight they should consider what they are voting for as well as what they are voting against.
The truth is that since the events of last autumn there has been a new stability in the financial and monetary affairs of this country. It is true—reserves have risen by $3.7 billion in the last two months. We have successfully negotiated a safety net that has given stability to sterling. This is together with the $1.5 billion medium-term credit negotiated from the commercial banks on favourable terms, which indicates confidence in this country’s future and in the Labour Government’s policies.
In the last four months there have been more than £6 billion worth of sales of gilts to help finance our borrowing requirements. Interest rates are now down, with the minimum lending rate at a full two points less than it was when the Opposition left office of 1974.
Our domestic credit expansion is well within the target of £9 billion in a full year. Within the last year, the sterling money supply has increased by a little over 6 per cent. compared with 28 per cent. and 24 per cent. in the last two years that the Opposition were in office. If this situation continues, the home buyer can look forward to a reduction in building society rates of interest.
The growth of industrial output of 2 per cent. and of gross domestic product of 1 per cent. in the fourth quarter shows that the economy is now turning upwards. In the most recent three months exports are up and imports are holding level, with the current deficit reduced to £288 million compared with £518 million in the preceding three months.
Business confidence is on the upturn. The percentage of firms working below capacity is the lowest for two years and new orders for exports of engineering industries are up by 46 per cent. It was welcome news yesterday that unemployment has fallen again, as it has in each of the last two months. The fall last month, seasonally adjusted, was the biggest for four years.
The most welcome news is the fall in the number of unemployed school-leavers, from 208,000 in July to 42,000 in February and 34,000 in March. There are more vacancies for jobs—these are up by a third on a year ago. Our industrial relations record, due to the work of ACAS and the industrial relations legislation which was passed on the basis of conciliation and consent and not on confrontation, is the best for 10 years.
I will come to the matter of unemployment again in a moment. I cannot guarantee that this decline of the last two months will be continued in the next few months. [HON. MEMBERS: “Oh.”] I see no reason for hon. Members to mock that statement, unless they are seeking only to make party points. The immensity of the task on unemployment is added to by the fact that at the present time the number of additional new entrants to the work force is about 150,000 a year. That makes the problem all the more formidable.
The world economy is still in a precarious state and the wrong decisions internationally could have serious effects on our economy and on those more vulnerable economies in the less developed countries. It is my hope that the Downing Street summit will achieve a unity of Western leaders in purpose and action. We must ensure a unity of action to prevent a trade war that will plunge the world back into an even deeper recession. We must ensure that there is unity of action to counteract unemployment, which is running at a rate of 15 million in the industrialised Western world. What kind of future are we offering to young people in the various industrialised countries if we tolerate these levels of unemployment as a permanent feature of Western industrialised society?
It will be vital in May to seek a new initiative for the Western world to help the less developed countries overcome their balance of payments problems caused by the increase in oil prices.
Mr. Nicholas Ridley (Cirencester and Tewkesbury) Does the Prime Minister think that it really helps less developed countries if we borrow $20 billion that would otherwise be available for development by them?
The Prime Minister The two matters are not totally related. The future of the credit facilities for the less developed countries is something that is concerning the International Monetary Fund at the moment. Such calls as are being made upon it by Western industrialised countries will be offset by the creation of new facilities. We have a formidable agenda in front of us and this is something in which the whole future of society—whether it be capitalist, mixed, Socialist, or Marxist is at stake. Did hon. Members hear anything about this from the Leader of the Opposition today?
Britain is not isolated or insulated from the rest of the world economically. But, especially with North Sea oil coming in at a rate of 30 million tons a year—one-third of our requirements—our economy presents a picture of some encouragement for the future—I emphasise “some encouragement”. That view is receiving endorsement by authoritative commentators throughout the world.
Last week, the OECD, in its annual review of the United Kingdom economy, said: Britain could achieve a rapid rate of economic growth compared with past levels and a steady rise in living standards over the next few years. About this Administration it went on to say: As a result of the relatively novel approach”— adopted by this Government— less heavily orientated than previously towards the short term, the economy could—for the first time since the 1967 devaluation—be able to break away from the vicious circle of the past. That is the judgment of those who consider where the country has got to today, and it is a picture of some encouragement to the British people.
There are many problems ahead. Our position is based, as the right hon. Lady said, on the industrial strategy. That strategy is not just the strategy of the Government, as she always seems to think. It is a strategy that has the full backing of the TUC and of the CBI. So when the right hon. Lady attacks the industrial strategy she is not just attacking the Government, as she seems to think; she is attacking a policy agreed among these three major elements. It is recognised that sustained recovery is needed. For the troubles of our economy are by now long-standing and deep-seated. To make the structural changes that are necessary to restore the dynamic of a mixed economy will need a settled approach over a long, hard haul. The foundations of economic health will not be relaid in less than a decade. Yes, that is from “The Right Approach”. I have been quoting from it for some time, and right hon. and hon. Members opposite did not even notice.
Our policy is based not just on words but on a co-operative effort by Government, trade unions and management. So what can be done to regenerate our industry, since it is industry that will provide the basis for our future prosperity? I have described before what industrial sectors and firms are doing, and it is upon our industrial performance that the future of our standard of life and, indeed, the nature of our society will depend.
But that is not all. We recognise that our greatest national asset is the skill of our own people. That is why we have devoted over £180 million for training and retraining, created over 86,000 extra training places, and applied special measures to keep people in work. The £202 million spent in the last 20 months on the temporary employment subsidy has helped to preserve against the world blizzard 214,000 jobs, and we have also provided £130 million for the job creation programme, and introduced many other measures besides.
All round, the industrial strategy is blessed by representatives of both labour and management in industry. What would the Opposition do, for example, about the 40 sector working parties now going through their own industries, firm by firm to see how industrial efficiency can be increased? What would the Opposition do about the selective aids which are now going to vital industries such as machine tools, machinery, foundries and electronic components, where thousands of jobs are involved? We know what the right hon. Member for Leeds, North-East would do: he would have them out on the stones next week.
Sir Keith Joseph (Leeds, North-East) Will the Prime Minister tell us where the money that the Government are spending to sustain some industries is coming from except by destroying other jobs by over-taxing, over-borrowing and printing money?
The Prime Minister Did I hear the right hon. Gentleman say “printing money”? I have always known him to be an honest man, even if it costs him a great deal, but, really, he knows better than that. What has he to say for himself? “Printing money”? I shall answer him. I would sooner that taxation was a little higher and 200,000 people were kept in work than pursue the policy of abolishing all the subsidies and putting those people on the dole.
I hoped that the Leader of the Opposition would spell out, as her leading spokesman is opposed to this policy, what she would do. What would she put in place of our policy? What would she do to regenerate industry? How would she create the jobs? Would she get rid of the temporary employment subsidy? These are questions that people will be asking the Conservative Party, and we have no idea of what the Conservative policy is in any of these areas.
I turn now to the question of prices because prices are one of the key issues. Last year, with the co-operation of the trade unions, we had good success, and inflation came down to under 13 per cent. There have been set-backs since then, and it is right that the country should know the reasons and what the Government are doing to try to ensure that these set-backs do not recur.
Last summer, when the pound came under heavy pressure in the currency markets of the world, the sterling prices of our imports rose, and we are still seeing the effects, although, as I have said, the value of the pound is now stabilised. It will still be a few months before the benefits of the more stable pound are seen in the shops, but already the benefits are coming through for our wholesale prices.
In the last three months input prices rose by only 2¼ per cent.—a very low figure. In a few months’ time we shall be seeing the effect on the prices of goods in the shops, and the latest forecasts indicate a good prospect that by the end of this year inflation will be below the 15 per cent. estimated last December. Indeed, the latest forecast by the OECD, published last week, predicted a rise below 12 per cent. at an annual rate in the second half of the year.
But no Government could guarantee that, because the prices of many of the goods in our shops are dependent on factors right outside any Government’s control. Last summer’s drought put up food prices by 6 per cent. or more, and, as the House knows, world commodity prices are outside the Government’s control. Indeed, world prices in dollar terms are currently more than 50 per cent. up on 12 months ago, and there have been particularly steep increases in the price of coffee, which has trebled, and that of tea, which has increased by two and a half times on the commodity markets.
We have seen some glimpses of what the Opposition’s policy is on these matters. I shall take the House into my confidence in case they have not caught everyone’s attention. The hon. Member for Derbyshire, West (Mr. Scott-Hopkins) told my right hon. Friend the Minister of Agriculture on 16th March that he failed to understand why my right hon. Friend was unwilling to accept the package of the Commission in Brussels and devalue the green pound by 5.9 per cent. The effect of that would be to increase food prices in this country by 1¼ per cent. at a stroke—immediately—if my right hon. Friend accepted that misguided advice.
What about the hon. Member for Cleveland and Whitby (Mr. Brittan), who I am glad to see has now been promoted to the Front Bench? His view is that there is a powerful case to be made against price controls altogether. Is that the policy of the Opposition? Is it?
The Opposition seem to be a little confused. They are not quite sure whether their policy is to get rid of price control or to maintain price control. We shall give them the opportunity of making up their minds. They can vote for our new prices Bill when it is brought to the House in a week or two’s time. Let us see where they stand. Let them give us a clear indication.
We cannot achieve success—[HON. MEMBERS: “Hear, hear.”]—Conservative Members are very sharp today—we cannot achieve success without ensuring other policy considerations and unless we take into account four elements. The Opposition should have told us where they stand on these elements.
First, we need a stable currency. Secondly, we need a new incomes agreement. Thirdly, we need increased competitiveness and efficiency in British industry. Fourthly, we need Government intervention against unjustifiable price increases and profit margins.
The Opposition will soon have the chance to stand up and be counted. The Government will be introducing a new prices Bill. The new policy will be based on profit margin control, subject to safeguards, for firms in manufacturing, services, and distribution. This will replace the detailed, over-restrictive and outdated cost controls written into the Price Code that we inherited from the last Conservative Government.
The Price Commission will be given new powers to investigate and, if necessary, to disallow specific price increases anywhere in the economy. These changes will greatly increase the flexibility and efficiency of our system of price control. Are the Opposition in favour of this or are they against?
I pass now to the future of this Parliament.
Mr. William Whitelaw (Penrith and The Border) Before the Prime Minister leaves the subject of prices, is it not really time that the Chancellor of the Exchequer had the courage and the decency to admit to the British people that his claim that inflation was running at 8.4 per cent. at the October 1974 election was utterly and totally fraudulent? If the Chancellor will not do that, what can his credibility be for the future?
The Prime Minister The right hon. Gentleman will have the pleasure of hearing my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer introduce his Budget next week.
I turn for a moment to the future for us sitting in this House. First and foremost, the Government intend to use the time ahead to carry through our economic and industrial strategy. The various indicators to which I referred earlier all point perhaps for the first time for a generation, to the possibility of at last securing steady and sustainable economic growth in this country, with a stable currency, a surplus on the balance of payments, strict control of monetary policy, falling rates of interest, declining price inflation, a rising rate of investment in manufacturing industry, continuing industrial peace, tax reforms and a lower burden of personal taxation. On these foundations we shall build the growing prosperity of our people.
We shall use the time of this Parliament to plan how best to distribute the fruits of success of our economic policy and to maintain a proper balance between the needs of the public services and the wish of the private individual to have more real income in his pocket to spend. It will require planning. I tell the right hon. Lady the Leader of the Opposition that this cannot be left to the brutal dictates of the laissez-faire market; nor can it be frittered away in current consumption. The future strength of our industry must be secured through investment in our industrial strategy. We shall plan not only the regeneration of our industry but that of our great cities, to eliminate ghettos of poverty and racial tension. We shall see these policies through.
It will need the co-operation of all our people. The social cohesion that we have maintained through these last few difficult years was possible only because we were able to win and hold the trust of the working people of this country.
We do not know where the Opposition stand on any of these major issues. We do not even know where they stand or whether they would try to get another voluntary incomes policy. But we know that without the voluntary co-operation of the British working people the whole of our recovery and the fight against inflation would be entirely jeopardised. There is only one way, that of conciliation and consultation, preserving the cohesion and consensus in our society, of which the Opposition were once rightly proud but which in recent years they seem to have deserted.
This Government follow these objectives and have pursued them successfully during the past three years and will continue to do so in the remaining years of this Parliament.
Mr. Eldon Griffiths (Bury St. Edmunds) rose—
The Prime Minister Much else—
Mr. Eldon Griffiths rose—
Mr. Speaker Order. If the Prime Minister is not giving way, the hon. Member for Bury St. Edmunds (Mr. Griffiths) must sit down.
The Prime Minister Much else remains to be done. I have already referred to the need to co-ordinate the responsibilities of industrialised countries to our global economic problems, and I gladly welcome contributions here.
I shall say one other thing about the vote tonight and the attitude of the Opposition. There are hon. Members on both sides of the House who have a deep and genuine concern about the problems of East-West relations. Perhaps the biggest fear that we have is over whether we shall maintain peace or drift into war. The problems are those of nuclear proliferation, of who holds nuclear weapons, and of whether we endeavour to live in relative amity with those who hold an entirely different philosophic view about the organisation of society.
If we cannot learn to live with them, we shall certainly die with them.
Against that background I ask the House to consider whether the right hon. Lady, the Leader of the Opposition, contributes to detente and relations with the Soviet Union. The Opposition’s domestic policies are mirrored in their international policy which, where it is specific, is dangerous, and on many major issues and crucial areas of international economic co-operation it is totally non-existent. It is against this background that we have been conducting conversations to see on what basis these general policies should be continued.
The conversations have taken place with many people. We have been anxious to discover whether there is sufficient identity of interest to enable the general policies that I have outlined to be continued. There is no doubt that the Government, half way through the life of this Parliament, wish to see that the policies which are being followed—they are not pleasant policies, and they are not intended to be pleasant—shall be followed through resolutely.
We have had discussions with the leaders of the Ulster Unionist Party. It is not my intention to go into any detail on this except to say that I am impressed by the case that has been made by the hon. Member for Antrim, South (Mr. Molyneaux) and by the right hon. Member for Down, South (Mr. Powell) who accompanied him on the matter of the number of seats and the under-representation of Northern Ireland in this House. I indicated to the hon. Gentleman—and I hope that he will not mind my saying this—that, irrespective of the way in which he and his colleagues vote tonight, it is my intention, with the consent of my colleagues, to refer to a Speaker’s Conference, if you will care to preside, Mr. Speaker, the question of the representation of Northern Ireland.
The hon. Member for Antrim, South has made no bargain with me about that. I have no idea how he intends to vote, but I told him and I repeat here publicly what I intend to do.
Mr. James Kilfedder (Down, North) If the right hon. Gentleman feels that these are changes that should be granted to the Ulster people now why did he not grant them years ago when we were pressing for them in this House?
The Prime Minister There has been considerable debate about that—[HON. MEMBERS: “Bribery.”]—but the latest reason is that the House was genuinely waiting for the result of the devolution discussions and for what would happen—[Interruption.] The Conservatives may not like it, but it happens to be the simple truth.
Mr. Michael Mates (Petersfield) rose—
The Prime Minister The Lord President and I have also had talks with the Leader of the Liberal Party.
Mr. Mates rose—
Mr. Speaker Order. The Prime Minister is clearly not going to give way.
Mr. Mates rose—
Hon. Members Name him!
Mr. Speaker Order. I have no intention of naming anyone if I can help it.
The Prime Minister Very well, Mr. Speaker, I shall give way to the hon. Gentleman.
Mr. Mates I am grateful to the Prime Minister. His talk of bargaining over seats in Ulster is a part, albeit an unattractive part, of the political deals that go on. Will the right hon. Gentleman take this opportunity categorically to deny that any deal was offered or mentioned concerning the movement of two battalions of troops to Ulster as part of a political settlement? Will he confirm that this was no part of his discussions, because to use British troops as a political pawn in this chess game would be utterly disgusting?
The Prime Minister It only goes to show that second or third thoughts are best, and I am glad that I gave way to the hon. Gentleman. I am sure that the hon. Member for Antrim, South will not mind my saying that at no time in our discussions did any questions of this sort come up and that the hon. Gentleman and myself would have regarded it as insulting if we had endeavoured to bargain on that basis.
Mr. James Molyneaux (Antrim, South) I am grateful to the Prime Minister for giving me this opportunity for denying that any such point was raised at any time. I think that we would both view any such report with contempt. May I also say in fairness to the Prime Minister that all our discussions were conducted on the basis that there could be no concession or sacrifice of principle on the part of either of us?
The Prime Minister I was saying that my right hon. Friend the Lord President and I had discussions with the Leader of the Liberal Party and with the hon. Member for Cornwall, North (Mr. Pardoe). It is our view that there is a sufficient identity of interest between us at present to establish some machinery that will enable us to consult each other about future developments in this Parliament—[HON. MEMBERS: “Oh.”] We therefore—[An HON. MEMBER: “Sing it again.”]
Mr. William Molloy (Ealing, North) Chuck him out.
Mr. Speaker Order. The House knows that I cannot see behind me, but I can hear. I hope that whoever has been shouting at my left ear will stop doing it and go away.
The Prime Minister You have no idea how much you have relieved my mind, Mr. Speaker. I thought that it was you shouting at me.
We have therefore agreed to establish some machinery to keep our positions under review and we intend to try an experiment that will last until the end of the present parliamentary Session, when both the Liberal Party and ourselves can consider whether it has been of sufficient benefit to the country to be continued—[Interruption.] I am very happy to see the Opposition applaud this new-found stability in Parliament. It will give this Administration the stability it needs to carry on with the task of regenerating British industry and of securing our programme.
We therefore intend to set up a joint consultative committee under the chairmanship of my right hon. Friend the Leader of the House. This committee will examine policy and other issues that arise before they come to the House, and of course, we shall examine the Liberal Party’s proposals. [Interruption.] I think that Conservative Members should listen to this, because their fate may depend upon it.
The existence of this committee will not commit the Government to accepting the views of the Liberal Party, nor the Liberal Party to supporting the Government on any issue. There will, however, be regular meetings between Ministers and spokesmen of the Liberal Party including meetings, for example—which have already begun—between the Chancellor of the Exchequer and the Liberal Party’s economic spokesman.
Mr. Cranley Onslow (Woking) On a point of order, Mr. Speaker. Is it not a well-established practice that Budget proposals are not divulged to anybody in advance? May we be assured that that practice will not be set aside in this relationship between the Government and the Liberal Party?
Mr. Speaker That is not a point of order. I suggest to the House that we shall not know more unless we listen.
Mr. Kenneth Lewis (Rutland and Stamford) On a point of order, Mr. Speaker. In view of what the Prime Minister has lust said, may we take it that the next Liberal Party spokesman will be speaking from the other side of the House?
Mr. Speaker Order.
Mr. Kenneth Lewis rose—
Mr. Speaker Order.
Mr. Kenneth Lewis rose—
Mr. Speaker Order. I warn the hon. Gentleman that he has been extremely discourteous to me. I warn hon. Members that unless they resume their seats when I stand up and call for order, I shall order them out of the Chamber. I know the importance of the vote tonight to both sides, but the House must treat its Speaker with courtesy.
Mr. Timothy Raison (Aylesbury) Will the Prime Minister give way?
The Prime Minister No. I know that there were complaints about the reception that the right hon. Lady received, but it has been repaid a thousand fold by the Opposition during the last half hour.
In addition, the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Liberal Party will meet whenever necessary to discuss these matters. [An HON. MEMBER: “What does that mean?”] It means exactly what it says—that we shall meet for discussions.
The issue of direct elections is a difficult one. I have already indicated that the Government will be presenting legislation on direct elections to Parliament in this Session, for direct elections next year. The Liberal Party has reaffirmed to me its strong conviction that a proportional system should be used as the method of election.
Next week the Government propose to publish their White Paper on direct elections. As hon. Members will find, that will set out a choice among different electoral systems, but it will make no recommendation. The purpose of doing that is to enable the Government to hear the views of the House on these matters, but, in view of the arrangement that I now propose to enter into with the Leader of the Liberal Party, there will be consultation between us on the method to be adopted, and the Government’s final recommendation will take full account of the Liberal Party’s commitment. [Interruption.] I do not know whether Conservative Members think they are disturbing me, but I promise them that they are not. I could go on for a long time.
To come back to the White Paper, whatever the final recommendation on these matters, it will be subject to a free vote of both Houses of Parliament. As far as the Government are concerned, all hon. Members will be entitled to vote in any way that they think fit.
The Leader of the Liberal Party put to us very strongly, though it was hardly necessary to do so because we are agreed about this, that progress should be made on legislation for devolution, and to this end the Liberal Party has today submitted a detailed memorandum to us. Consideration will be given to that document and consultations will begin on it, and in any future debate on the devolved Assemblies and the method of representation—for example, proportional representation—there will be a free vote.
The House has no doubt forgotten, but there was the Housing (Homeless Persons) Bill which I recommended to the House during the Queen’s Speech, but for which time was not able to be found, so the hon. Member for the Isle of Wight (Mr. Ross) took over the Bill and with some Government assistance has been endeavouring to put it through. We shall provide extra time to secure the passage of that Bill.
The Local Authorities (Works) Bill will be confined to the provisions that are required to protect the existing activities of direct labour organisations, in the light of local government reorganisation.
That, together with the fact that we agree that this should be made public, represents the contents of the discussions that have gone on between us. They will give the Government the opportunity of maintaining a stable position while they carry through their economic and social policies. It will enable us to take away what the right hon. Lady thought was a weakness, and that is the instability of the Government not knowing from day to day what will be the position of the Opposition. We shall now be able to overcome that, and for that reason I am certain that this is in the national interest.
Mr. Dennis Skinner (Bolsover) It seems that my right hon. Friend and other members of the Cabinet will spend a great deal of their time and energy in future consulting the 13 Members of the Liberal Party. Will my right hon. Friend give a categoric assurance that there will be equal and if necessary better consultation with Back Bench Members of his own Parliamentary Labour Party, because we carry more weight in this Parliament than do the Liberals?
The Prime Minister My hon. Friend is quite correct. As he will know and as the Opposition do not know, in recent weeks there has been correspondence between the Liaison Committee and the Chairman of the Parliamentary Labour Party and myself and my right hon. Friend the Leader of the House in which we have overhauled the whole process of consultation with the Parliamentary Labour Party. As my hon. Friend knows, this was not to be published, but the new machinery was reported to the Parliamentary Labour Party meeting two or three weeks ago when I was present, I believe that my hon. Friend was there, too. It was unanimously accepted as being appropriate and suitable to enable the views and opinions of the Parliamentary Labour Party to be borne in upon the Government before legislation was introduced. I thank my hon. Friend for enabling me to make that clear.
Mr. James Sillars (South Ayrshire) I am grateful to the Prime Minister for giving way; he has given way a great deal this afternoon. I come back to the Liberal Party memorandum on devolution. Would not my right hon. Friend agree that the main problem about devolution has been and always will be the timetable motion? If the Liberal Party suggests that that should be a vote of confidence issue, we all know that the problem about the future of a timetable motion, as with the one on 22nd February, is the Labour Party’s own Members of Parliament.
The Prime Minister I regret to say that I have not yet studied the Liberal Party’s memorandum. It has only just reached us.
Hon. Members Oh!
Mr. Speaker Order.
The Prime Minister I see that the Opposition are in a giggly mood, and I suppose that it is a measure of their discomfiture.
As far as the future of the Bill is concerned, I would have no hesitation in discussing by what method we can ensure that there is progress on the Bill to bring it to a conclusion on as agreed a basis as possible. I can go no further than that. My view on this matter has always been clear. It has always seemed to me that it is vital in the interests of Scotland that there should be a Bill on devolution, and the more we can get it agreed, the better it will be. I can go no further than that.
Mr. Eldon Griffiths rose—
The Prime Minister I will not give way.
Mr. Eldon Griffiths rose—
Mr. Speaker Order. It is quite clear that the Prime Minister has said that he will not give way.
Mr. Eldon Griffiths rose—
The Prime Minister I have given way much more to the Opposition, but that, Mr. Speaker, concludes my report to the House.
Hon. Members Oh!
The Prime Minister My report was set against a barrage of interruption. But I must say that I have a feeling that at the end of the day I shall not feel as worried as will hon. Gentlemen opposite.
