Economic Affairs

Part of the debate – in the House of Commons at 12:00 am on 12 February 1957.

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Photo of Mr Iain Macleod Mr Iain Macleod , Enfield West 12:00, 12 February 1957

I think the hon. Member will find that they are now in the Vote Office. I think and hope that these changes will get rid of many of the cases which have caused all of us much anxiety and will reduce the amount of correspondence between hon. Members and myself, which is something we can all bear with fortitude.

I should like to come straight away to the problems of the motor car industry, which have been a recurring theme in economic debates ever since I became Minister of Labour. I do not suggest there is any connection. [Laughter.] I started thinking half way through that sentence whether I could substitute another end to it, but I could not think of another in time. As the House knows, all through 1956 there was a serious problem of short time working in the motor car and motor accessories industries. Although it recovered a considerable amount in the autumn, it rose again sharply when petrol rationing was imposed, or when it was imminent. At the end of December it ran something like 80,000. I have been asked for the figures. The latest figure I have is that throughout the first part of January it was about 60,000, and the most recent indication—only a day or so old, on 8,th February—is that the figure has fallen to about 50,000. As the House knows, with Vauxhall and Jaguar there has been some welcome return to full-time working, but these figures are very unpredictable because the units in the industry are so large that a single change in a component can alter the whole balance of the figures.

I was pressed by the hon. Member for Dagenham (Mr. Parker) to give further help to the motor vehicle industry. The House will remember that in the debate just before Christmas, to which I have referred, I announced relaxations of the hire-purchase restrictions. Those were rather scornfully greeted by hon. Members who thought they would have very little effect on the situation, but as a matter of fact the sales of new private cars bought on hire purchase in January were 70 per cent. more than in December, although still rather less than in previous months, and those of used cars were 140 per cent. more and above the figures for earlier months. The sales of commercial vehicles were up by about 60 per cent. I am bound to say that I did not think the reaction would be quite so swift, but it is unquestionably true that the concession has been of very real value to the industry.