Orders of the Day — Industry and Commerce

Part of the debate – in the House of Commons at 12:00 am on 8 November 1977.

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Photo of Mr Geraint Howells Mr Geraint Howells , Cardigan 12:00, 8 November 1977

Many right hon. and hon. Members will this afternoon refer to nationalised industries, to commerce, to unemployment and to the nation's economic ills, and quite rightly so. But I do not think that we shall solve our problems overnight. The only way to improve the economy of this country is to have a stable Government, and I believe that my colleagues and I have done a great job in that direction during the last six months.

The majority of the electorate favours the agreement my party has with the Government. Therefore, I believe that over a period, given the stable Government the country needs, the economy will improve and we shall be able to solve our problems of unemployment. There is, therefore, no point in the Conservatives pressing for an early election.

All sections of industry are doomed to failure unless we have a proper agricultural policy. Here I declare my interest under the traditions of the House in that I am a farmer. Agriculture is Britain's most important industry, and it is therefore fitting that it should be given its place in the Queen's Speech. I congratulate the Government on recognizing the need to aim for higher production in order to meet a greater proportion of our needs from our own resources. This is a most worthy aim and one that can be realised. But to bring it about the Government must take a number of practical steps to restore confidence to the industry and assure its long-term success. We in Britain pay more than £2,000 million a year for temperate foods.

I am glad to note the Government's intention to reform the common agricultural policy. That is a matter on which the Liberals have been pressing the Minister for some time. I approve of the CAP in principle but feel that many of the systems it advocates are not only ineffective but wasteful when applied to British agriculture. Far too many directives involve bureaucratic interference on minor matters, that interference emanating from the CAP and causing unnecessary complications and ill will. I urge the Government to press their colleagues in Europe to discard the intervention system. It is costly and wasteful and it denies the British public the right to buy the best, such as the best beef, when it is plentiful. The British consumer is justified in complaining about this.

I have spoken to many European agriculturalists. They are coming round to our way of thinking about abolishing the intervention system and reintroducing the deficiency payments which operated in Britain for decades. It is wasteful to put best beef into intervention, to pay £50 or £60 per beast for keeping it there for six months and then to sell it off as manufacturing beef.

Another sure way of restoring confidence in the industry will be to bring about a devaluation of the green pound. We can all see the short-term benefit of retaining the green pound at its present level, but that is being done at the expense of our long-term interest. In particular, it affects the beef sector which, if the value is upheld, allowing unfair competition from elsewhere, will steadily lose ground. That will lead to a serious shortage of beef in the 1980s. That is surely an expensive and disastrous situation.

This brings me to one of the most important aspects of planning for the industry. It is absolutely essential to make long-term planning an inherent part of agriculture policy in order to avoid the frequent crises that arise from our present short-term arrangements. It happened this year in the pig industry. Now it is happening in the beef sector, and it may happen also in the dairy industry next year.

The Liberals have been pressing the Government for some time to improve the availability of capital to the industry, and I am glad to see that our proposals are being seriously considered, as are our suggestions on tax reform, to aid the farmer in Britain.

I should like to see more money spent on research into the problems of marginal and hill land development. Production in these areas could be vastly increased given the right scientific help and know-how. If we are to increase production let us turn our sights to the hills and uplands. There the potential is great. We should help the marginal land farmer so that production may be increased by at least 100 per cent. over the next 10 years.

There are also social problems on the hills and uplands. Unless the farmers on the hills and uplands recoup their costs they will leave, and once they go it will be very difficult to persuade them to return. It is a great pity that the Leader of the House has left the Chamber. Nevertheless, I am sure that the point will be made to him that we should have a debate on the livestock industry very soon—before it is too late.

I turn to the question of the Milk Marketing Board. I read with interest that about 150,000 small producers may leave the dairy industry because, it is said, they are too small. It is a great pity that under the Treaty of Accession the Government of the day did away with the guaranteed price system. The dairy producers knew exactly what they would get for their milk in the years ahead under the old system, but now—