Consumer Protection and Cost of Living

Part of the debate – in the House of Commons at 12:00 am on 30 November 1970.

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Photo of Mr Peter Mills Mr Peter Mills , Torrington 12:00, 30 November 1970

I must declare an interest at once because I am a consumer. I am also a farmer. I produce food and help process it. I am therefore actively concerned with food and food prices. I am sorry that the hon. Member for Manchester, Wythenshawe (Mr. Alfred Morris) is not in his seat, because I wanted to make a few comments about him. He has a nerve to bring forward this debate today! How the Opposition can criticise this Government for increasing food prices when we think of what has happened in the last six years is amazing. Talk about the kettle calling the pot black!

Hon. Members opposite have forgotten. Do we have to spell out again the reasons why food prices have increased? Wage demands have been rising. Have they forgotten devaluation and what that has done to the price, of imported grains, particularly hard wheat, mutton and beef and a whole range of fruit and other products? All have been seriously affected. The Opposition seem to forget this. Have they forgotten taxation, particularly food tax increases? Every lorry that transports food throughout the country is costing more, and that is a direct result of the Socialist Government?

The hon. Member for Wythenshawe said that S.E.T. had had no effect. He ought to ask the food distributors. I asked them about this before the election and they told me that £85 million a year had been added to costs as a result of it. Have hon. Membes opposite fogotten that most expensive piece of legislation, the Transport Act? If ever a Measure has produced expensive food, it is that. We have only to look at what happens when a person has to carry meat from Cornwall and Devon to London to see how it is working. The ridiculous situation exists at the moment whereby a person has to have two drivers, one following behind the lorry in a car. Once the first lorry driver's time is up, the other driver in the car has to take over. We have present the hon. Member for Glasgow, Woodside (Mr. Carmichael) who helped form and devise that Measure.

There has not been a word about the effect of their legislation over the past six years on the price of food. Certainly the consumer needs protecting—but from Socialist legislation which increases food prices.

The hon. Member for Wythenshawe complained about our new policy of import control and levies. We need to return to basic thinking and decide whether we want to grow more food in Britain. I do. It is in the interests of the consumer and of our balance of payments that we should do so. It is ridiculous that at this time we should be importing Mexican carrots paid for with our precious dollars when we have the finest carrots in the world.

I sometimes think that our importers and the Board of Trade are not interested in import substitution. The report of the Agricultural Economic Council suggested that the annual gross output would be increased by £345 million—17 per cent.—with a net import saving of £220 million. This would be in the interests of the consumer and of the nation.

This was not easy to achieve under the Socialist Administration because the old system of deficiency payments did not always work. The more that was produced the more the end price was diluted. Treasury control and standard quantities work against the expansion of home agriculture.

If this very desirable increase in home agriculture is to be secured it must be done by import control and levies. Although the Common Market agricultural policy can be condemned as regards its internal working, in the matter of import control and levies and preventing dumping of food in the Community it works very well. I speak from experience, because I sometimes try to export cattle and meat to the Common Market.

If expansion of home agriculture is agreed to be desirable, Exchequer financing of agriculture must be bypassed. This is why it is necessary to introduce a policy of import control and levies. It will slightly increase the price of food—by 2 per cent. a year, or 5 per cent. or 6 per cent. over the transitional period.

In their six years in power, the Socialists increased the cost of food and of living by 22 per cent., without any advantages on their side. They did not increase home production, nor did they stop food imports. Yet they have the nerve to criticise us and our import policy.

Ours is a package deal. It will help to reduce taxation. It will save the Treasury at least £250 million. It will help with our balance of payments. To be set against the slight increase in food prices are the real advantages which will accrue from the new policy, whereas under the Socialists we had only price increases and no advantages.

The consumer benefits from a policy of expanding the production of homegrown food. Our products are first class. I defy anybody to show that Britain cannot produce the very best food cheaper than most foreign countries. It is dangerous to be dependent on foreign produce alone. A slight reduction in the maize harvest in America this year—14 per cent. or 15 per cent.—threw the whole cereal world into confusion and caused prices greatly to increase. If we produced more of our own cereals we should not be at the mercy of foreign countries.

The hon. Member for Wythenshawe was right to table the Motion so that we could discuss the matter, but he has not a leg to stand on. Under the Socialists food prices and the cost of living increased alarmingly. Our package deal will not only produce a healthy agricultural industry; it will help with the balance of payments and save £250 million a year, thus allowing the Treasury to reduce taxation and help those in very real need. I for one would like to throw the Motion right out.