‘Recrimination Will Follow Failure’

Press, Volume CI, Issue 29891, 3 August 1962, Page 9

‘Recrimination Will Follow Failure’

(N Z.P.A,-Reuter—Copyright) LONDON, August 2. A group of Labour members of Parliament said last night there would be five years of all-round recrimination if Britain failed to enter Europe.

They issued a statement which said: ‘‘lt is not an exaggeration to say that failure now would herald five years of all-round recrimination. We would blame the Six. some of the Six would blame us. and some of them might blame each other. "Some people, both here and on the Continent, might blame the Americans for interfering too much, and some for not interfering enough, and the Americans themselves would no doubt do their fair share of blaming everyone concerned.

"As a result, the hopes of using Europe as an approach to wider unity, which had been awakened by President Kennedy’s recent proposals, would be destroyed. Instead, a most dangerous period of disintegration would set in.” The pro-market group, headed by Mr Roy Jenkins and Mr John Diamond, issued the statement on behalf of the Labour Common Market committee. The Foreign Secretary (Lord Home' said yesterday he did not believe the Commonwealth a sufficient answer in itself to Britain’s needs in the next 50 years Nor did he believe Britain was a sufficient answer to the Commonwealth’s needs in the next 50 years “if we stand alone.’’ he told the House of Lords He was opening a debate on the Common Market Lord Home said the question was not whether Britain should try to get in but whether she was “likely to get a good or a bad bargain ” The Common Market was already having hn increased influence on the structure of Europe Lord Home said: "The British Government must in the first place look at this Common Market situation through British eyes "Although sentiment may play a legitimate part in this matter the British Government cannot ignore the fact that we are responsible for the life and well-being of 50.000.000 people packed into an overcrowded island “If you isolate Britain from the centre of markets, or the centre of power, she will became an offshore island and her economy will either be static or weakened “Commonwealth countries themselves have got to do some very hard thinking in terms of hard realities It seems to me that their own expansion is directly concerned with that of Britain.’ he said. The United States and

Europe would be the centre in the next 20 or 30 years “The Commonwealth is not a centre of power." he said "It has always refused to institutionalise itself. It has a wide political influence, but it is not a centre of power.”