Mr Ian Stewart: Does my right hon. Friend accept that both parts of his statement will probably receive a general welcome, and that they deserve to do so? Will he ask the royal commission to consider —I say this without reference to the particular case or to particular individuals—whether it might not advantage British justice in England if it were open to the courts to have a verdict of not proven, as...
Mr Ian Stewart: As this country and my right hon. Friend personally have enhanced their authority by the part that we have played in the campaign, may I ask my right hon. Friend whether he would be ready to use that increased authority in the international forums at which the future and peace will be discussed to encourage other members of the Security Council and countries that may have supplied weapons to...
Mr Ian Stewart: I congratulate my right hon. Friend on the way in which he has absolutely refused to entertain any devaluation of the pound now that it has joined the exchange rate mechanism. Does he agree that even to entertain such a move would undermine the framework of the anti-inflationary policy that he has adopted and that, over time, it would make it more difficult to bring about the necessary...
Mr Ian Stewart: A large number of my right hon. and hon. Friends have sat here and listened to the right hon. and learned Member for Monklands, East (Mr. Smith), hoping that at some time during his speech he would answer the question put to him by several of my hon. Friends—whether it is the policy of the Labour party that we should move towards monetary union. The right hon. and learned Gentleman made...
Mr Ian Stewart: We know the Government's objective perfectly well. They do not advocate monetary union. They have said that the hard ecu could be an intermediate step. They do not exclude the possibility of monetary union but they do not advocate it. That is my understanding of the position that my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer has explained on many occasions. The right hon. and learned...
Mr Ian Stewart: I thought that the right hon. and learned Gentleman implied that. Will he explain what he was implying when he said that monetary union would have adverse consequences in the short term?
Mr Ian Stewart: I shall not misquote the right hon. and learned Gentleman, but state what he said. He said that he was concerned about economic convergence and different standards in the economies of various countries, which means exactly what I said.
Mr Ian Stewart: I did the right hon. and learned Gentleman the unjustified credit of believing that he had some regard for other member states of the Community which were less prosperous. I thought that when he talked about convergence he meant the difference between the more highly industrialised and developed countries of the Community and those, such as the Mediterranean countries—particularly those...
Mr Ian Stewart: The internal market is a series of practical decisions taken in the light of converging trade over a long period. Member states, including the United Kingom, have found obstructions and tried to remove them. That seems entirely different from imposing an ultimate target that is not self-evidently desirable at this stage. It is all very well to say, as the right hon. and learned Member for...
Mr Ian Stewart: It would cause the Labour party problems but, from what the right hon. and learned Member for Monklands, East said, his policies would cause many other problems, of which a deficit might not be the greatest.
Mr Ian Stewart: I am afraid not, as I wish to respect the wishes of the Chair. We have all been asked not to speak for too long. I have a few practical comments about the hard ecu. As I understood my right hon. Friend the Chancellor, inherent in his system would be recourse by individual member states to indemnify the European monetary fund for any losses that might be sustained by the issuance of hard ecus...
Mr Ian Stewart: I have the privilege of following the hon. Member for Paisley, North (Mrs. Adams), so I am the first to be able to congratulate her on her maiden speech. To our pleasure at hearing her I add our sadness at the reason why she has entered the House. She spoke touchingly of the former hon. Member for Paisley, North. Hon. Members respected him, and, no doubt, judging from what we have heard...
Mr Ian Stewart: I certainly do not want to follow the example of the hon. Member for The Wrekin (Mr. Grocott) because much of the speech of my hon. Friend the Member for Basildon (Mr. Amess) covered the essence of reasons that lie behind his tabling of the motion. I am glad to be able to speak on the motion, and to do so more briefly than the hon. Member for The Wrekin, to place on record my profound respect...
Mr Ian Stewart: Now that my right hon. Friend has announced the first part of his budgetary package on public expenditure and has shown very welcome restraint on the public expenditure totals, when the time comes will he be equally austere in presenting his Budget in the spring, because a tight fiscal policy is the best foundation for restoring economic growth?
Mr Ian Stewart: Not surprisingly, much of the debate has focused on potential future steps towards monetary convergence and monetary union, rather than on the decision that the Chancellor took a fortnight ago. That is understandable because the debate takes place against the background of proposals from the European Commission to the effect that stage 1 of the so-called Delors plan is only a staging post on...
Mr Ian Stewart: Will my right hon. Friend confirm that it was his view that it was appropriate for a first reduction in interest rates to be made which led to his decision to enter the ERM at that time, and not the other way round, as has been generally suggested against his momentous decision? Despite the constraints of the EMS in future, can he assure us that he will do his best not to be pressed into any...
Mr Ian Stewart: I very much regret the aspersions that have been made against you, Madam Deputy Speaker. My hon. Friend the Member for Eastbourne (Mr. Gow) pointed out, in his usual vivid and graphic way, the absurdity that would follow from the implementation of new clause 1. I do not wish to add anything to what he said, but I wish to pick up one point made by the hon. Member for Workington (Mr....
Mr Ian Stewart: I have the honour to represent north Hertfordshire, which includes the village of St. Paul's Walden, where the Queen Mother spent much of her early life and to which she has always remained attached. On behalf of my constituents, I express to her our affectionate thanks for all that she has done in the district—supporting so many causes, particularly St. Mary's church, Hitchin, and the...
Mr Ian Stewart: With the approach of 1992 and the greater harmonisation of many activities in Britain and the other member states of the European Community, will my right hon. Friend give serious and urgent consideration to introducing a more reasonable and equivalent measure of inflation than the retail prices index, which is quite unlike the measure used in other European countries? The inclusion of...
Mr Ian Stewart: Will my right hon. Friend assure us that, regardless of the specific matters spelt out in the Madrid conditions, he will not contemplate the entry of sterling into the exchange rate mechanism until he regards it as fully compatible with the needs of domestic monetary policy and, in particular, that he will not do so at any time when it might mean that interest rates would have to be lowered...
