Mr John Browne: In rising to make my maiden speech, I am filled with a profound sense of honour, excitement and humility. What man or woman can fail to feel a great sense of honour at speaking for the first time in this historic Chamber—the very mother of Parliaments, and a Parliament about which I am still learning to find my way, both politically and physically? I have been reoriented and guided on many...
Mr John Browne: Is my hon. Friend aware that there was considerable concern about this subject in the Winchester constituency and that his statement will be very welcome, not only in this respect but because it illustrates an interest in human beings and in individual freedom, rather than in mere numbers and in State direction?
Mr John Browne: I welcome the Bill because I agree with many of its provisions and also because it shows the Government's willingness to go forward into the EEC with some enthusiasm. In saying that, I am afraid that I agree with my hon. Friend the Member for Harrow, Central (Mr. Grant) in that I find it slightly worrying that more emphasis is not given to small businesses. I refer particularly to the...
Mr John Browne: I listened with interest and a great deal of sympathy to some of the speeches from Opposition Members as the list of local government cuts was called out. Who would not have sympathy when services are cut? But it is absolutely wrong for Labour Members to give the impression that my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State is unsympathetic. I believe that he is. Indeed, we all are. The hon....
Mr John Browne: When I look at the Bills which the Government are bringing before the House in the current Session, I am convinced of one thing: the Prime Minister is giving us a new deal. It is a new deal that is just as revolutionary, just as fundamental and will prove to be just as historic as the new deal given to the people of the United States of America by the late President Roosevelt. But whereas...
Mr John Browne: It is unfortunate that I shall be able to speak for only four minutes. I consider that the essence of the Bill is ownership, whether it should be State ownership or genuine public ownership—in other words, ownership by us all as individuals or by pension funds, trade union funds, or other types of institution. My right hon, and hon. Friends feel that history has shown that nationalised...
Mr John Browne: History shows that Government, besides having no duty to be involved in the management of commercial companies, have no skill to manage such companies. Professionally trained and skilled managers should manage commercial companies. They know how to test the markets.
Mr John Browne: Those managers have the professional skill to test markets, establish market needs and find market opportunities, assemble production teams, especially in the difficult areas of high technology, to motivate those teams to be profitable, and to ensure the high quality of design and production, good deliveries and good after-sales service. In short, they can ensure profits for companies such as...
Mr John Browne: It is clear that few right hon. or hon. Members would disagree with the fact that our economy is in an extremely bad and precarious state. Apart from balance of payments figures and inflation, the main point about the present sad state of affairs is that we do not just have inflation or recession alone; we have both of them together. We have stagflation. That makes it extremely difficult for...
Mr John Browne: It gives me great pleasure to follow, from the Government side, the maiden speech of my hon. Friend the Member for Kingswood (Mr. Aspinwall). My hon. Friend represents a constituency close to the area where I grew up. I should like to join the hon. Member for Isle of Wight (Mr. Ross) in congratulating my hon. Friend on an excellent speech, which I, as a small business man, thought superb and...
Mr John Browne: It is not a question of favouring them. I do not like high interest rates. I have an overdraft myself. High rates are painful. The question is, do we wish to kill inflation or do we not? One has to control the money aggregates and raise the rate of interest above the rate of inflation. The tragedy is that both Conservative and Labour Governments have not had the courage to do it. Otherwise,...
Mr John Browne: I am not saying that I would favour high interest rates; I would only see them as a necessary step to take, but they would be painful. My concern is that, although interest rates should be raised above the level of inflation, it need be for only a relatively short time, provided that the monetary aggregates are controlled and that they expand only in line with the growth in the gross...
Mr John Browne: The United Kingdom is unsuccessful in this context. What the hon. Member for Vauxhall (Mr. Holland) says is true, and one of the reasons for our lack of success is that we are not in the entrepreneur game; we are in the heavy big business game. But many of our heavy big businesses are either dead or dying. I agree that we have process innovations. I am not against the big companies and their...
Mr John Browne: As a Sandhurst cadet, I was the proud owner of a 1934 MG. I also lived for about five years in the United States and I feel strongly about British exports to the United States, particularly MG, which has earned for itself an international name that spells quality of workmanship and motoring enjoyment. Fifty-four per cent. of British Leyland's sales to the United States are represented by MG....
Mr John Browne: That is not relevant.
Mr John Browne: The hon. Member compared the attitude towards South Africa with policy towards the Russians and the Olympic Games. Surely he is mixing attitudes that relate to an internal policy, as in the case of South Africa, with those that relate to external aggressive policies, as is the case with the Russians.
Mr John Browne: Over the past decade, and especially following the American defeat in Vietnam, East-West relations have illustrated the essential difference between the active strategy of Russia and the passive strategy of the capitalist West—so passive and so flexible that even our nuclear strategy is one of flexible response. Our strategy is so flexible and so lacking in basic will that it is unclear to...
Mr John Browne: asked the Secretary of State for Industry when he expects to complete his review of the Post Office's mail service monopoly powers.
Mr John Browne: Will my hon. Friend the Minister comment on his basic willingness to open the post and telephone services of the present monopoly to competition from private enterprise? Will he consider that proposal in the light of the Rayner recommendations and the special problems that sub-post offices may face?
Mr John Browne: During the course of her busy day, will the Prime Minister consider the insidious effect of the activities of members of the Unification Church—known as "moonies"—and the threat that is thereby posed to family unity? Will she consider taking measures to alert and protect citizens from such activities?
