Schedule. — (Transitional Provisions.)

Part of Orders of the Day — Resale Prices Bill – in the House of Commons at 12:00 am on 13 May 1964.

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Photo of Mr Douglas Jay Mr Douglas Jay , Battersea North 12:00, 13 May 1964

That is an engaging and agreeing characteristic of the hon. Gentleman, and he has the advantage of not having been associated with all the Government's past policies. He told us just now that it was a splendid thing to get rid of old methods, obsolete ideas, and all the rest of it, but the main action that we are taking in this Bill is to repeal the most important provision of the Restrictive Practices Act, 1956, which was introduced with the help of the Secretary of State for Industry and Trade, though not with the help of the Minister of State.

The Government's record over the whole story is remarkable. First, they introduced a provision in that Act which gave legal power for the first time in this country for a manufacturer to enforce his retail prices on a retailer. We opposed that, but the Government left that provision in force for six or seven years. In the Queen's Speech last autumn there was no reference to any intention to introduce a Resale Prices Bill. In the next lurch from the right hon. Gentleman we had a statement in January that he was going to introduce such a Bill, and also a number of Measures—which we are now told by the Minister of State is a package deal; I am not sure that that was a very diplomatic expression from his point of view—including action concerning monopolies, mergers and restrictive practices.

But the next stage was a Bill, rapidly introduced referring to resale prices only, and no action whatever other than a rather vague White Paper referring to mergers, monopolies and restrictive practices. This does not seem to bear the marks of any coherent and comprehensive Government policy on these issues. It is government by a series of lurches or hiccups this way and that which leave the public uncertain about what is going to occur next.

I should like to remind the right hon. Gentleman that, simultaneously with this Bill, he introduced a White Paper which made a number of practical proposals—that the Monopolies Commission should have power to inquire into proposed mergers; that there should be a Registrar of Monopolies; that additional powers should be given to the Board of Trade to enable the Commission's recommendations on monopolies to be enforced; that the Commission should be enlarged; and that the law should be further strengthened in the matter of information agreements. None of these proposals has been implemented by any legislative propositions brought before the House.

When, at the time of the introduction of this Bill which covers this limited field of resale price maintenance, we inquired why that was so, we were told that there was insufficient time. I am glad that we have the Prime Minister with us. He has occasionally followed our proceedings, and he, rather than the Secretary of State, is, I suppose, responsible at this point. The general impression created by Ministers at that time was that those measures were not introduced because there was to be a General Election in May or June.

What I cannot understand is why, when the decision was taken to postpone the General Election to the autumn, we did not have some action concerning monopolies, mergers, and the other matters, as well as this Bill. We have the unfortunate Leader of the House coming down every Thursday and looking round anxiously for suggestions as to how he can occupy his Parliamentary time in June and July. Why cannot we have further action to tackle this question of the great combines, of monopoly practices, of mergers, and so forth?

In passing, I say to the right hon. Gentleman that he still has not told us what he proposes to do about the report on electrical equipment in the motor car industry, which he has had for at least a year, and which took many years before that to inquire into.

When we look at the Bill, it seems that it is a remarkably one-sided policy to apply this very vigorous and concentrated weapon on one part of the field, and leave everything else over to the indefinite future. It invites public suspicion that the Government really have not the courage to tackle the great monopolies, the great combines, and the really influential wealthy groups in British industry, and that they prefer instead to act where it is just a question of the retailer and the small or medium-sized shopkeeper. That may or may not be true. It may be an unworthy suspicion, but if it is, why is it that, now that he has an embarrassing amount of time at his disposal, the right hon. Gentleman has refrained from taking any action except in this limited field?

We on this side of the House would favour a comprehensive policy directed towards keeping down the cost of living and benefiting the consumer by ensuring that fair prices are charged, and that excessive prices are not being made either in the retail trade, or further back in the manufacturing and processing trades. It seems odd that the Government should make this assault on one part of the field while they are not merely not taking action in other parts of the field but are adopting policies which are calculated to raise the cost, of living rather than to reduce it.