E.E.C. DEBATE Brown Lashes U.K. Policy And Leaders

Press, Volume CII, Issue 30056, 14 February 1963, Page 13

E.E.C. DEBATE Brown Lashes U.K. Policy And Leaders

(N^J’^.-Rsutar—Copyripht) LONDON, February 12. Britain had been given “a slap in the face in Paris, the order of the boot in Brussels and a kick in the Bahamas,” the Acting Leader of the Opposition, Mr George Brown, said tonight.

The Government’s only reply was to stop Princess Margaret going to Paris to raise funds for the British hospital there, he said. Only the most supine Conservative time-server could reaHy vote confidence in the Government after that.

Mr Brown, a contender for the Labour Party leadership after the death of Mr Gaitskell, was summing up a two-day Common Market debate for the Opposition. At the end of the debate, the Government won a resounding vote of confidence in its ability to deal with the Brussels aftermath when a Labour no-confidence motion was defeated by 333 votes to 227. A Government motion expressing full confidence in its policies was carried by 330 votes to 227. Mr Brown told Parliament the British Government had been humiliated time after time in a fashion that “leaders of this country have not had to tolerate for a thousand years.” Mr Brown claimed that Mr Macmillan had misjudged the mood of the nation. It did not want to reply to President de Gaulle in the way “in which one old man is rude to another old man about who led whom up the garden at Rambouillet. “We must stop harking back to Brussels and give up this futile hope that Italy or Luxembourg can make President de Gaulle change his mind,” he said. - "We must stop angling for Dr. Adenauer to come to our aid.” “New Men Wanted”

Mr Brown said new men were wanted at the head of affairs in Britain, “untainted with the duplicity, deception and double-dealing universally regarded as the hallmark of this administration.”

By a reckless policy of "an insult a day to France,” the Prime Minister was risking splitting the Western forces in Europe on trade grounds, while the East-West political division in Europe remained.

“Do not under-estimate the possible consequences of what the Prime Minister is doing,” Mr Brown said. “He is in an ugly mood. He is kicking out all round.” When Conservatives laughed, Mr Brown retorted: “N.A.T.O. could easily be the ultimate casualty of his policy.” He added: “Our relations with France must be restored.

“I wish we had been able to get into the European Economic Community. Let us maintain as much trade as we can with the area and stop this ridiculous recriminating battle across the ether.” Commonwealth Relations

Mr Brown said there was a similarly urgent job to be done in Commonwealth relations. “Of course the Prime Minister cannot call a Commonwealth Prime Ministers' conference.

“Which Prime Minister would be likely to come here again while he and the Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations (Mr Sandys) are still in their present offices, after the experience they had last time?” he asked. Yet it was an urgent necessity to have a Commonwealth Prime Ministers’ conference if the obstacles to Commonwealth trade were to be overcome. It was an urgent

necessity if they were to solve the problem of financing the trade between the underdeveloped—and the developed—members of the Commonwealth.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer (Mr Maudling), who wound up the two-day debate, said that if Mr Brown wanted to help in the situation, he doubted if he was well advised to talk of the British Government doing a “short-sell” on the Commonwealth and the European Free Trade Association. That was as unwise as it was untrue.

It was “unmitigated nonsense” to say the Prime Minister was afraid to call a Commonwealth Prime Ministers’ conference. Heath’s Speech

The Lord Privy Seal (Mr Heath), who was Britain’s chief negotiator at the abortive Brussels talks, said Britain now recognised that the way to membership of the Common Market was barred at present, but the negotiations had been on the point of agreement when France had used her veto to end them.

This was no myth. The talks could have been settled reasonably in a “comparatively short time.” Mr Heath gave a detailed account to the House of Commons on the last phase of the Brussels drama. His hourlong speech was warmly applauded by Government members.

Mr Heath told the Commons that Britain would continue to help build a wider Europe. "Our plan always has been to join wholeheartedly in the building of a wider Europe, to do nothing to obstruct it This attitude will continue to govern our policy,” he said. Mr Heath said he thought recent events had demonstrated the political importance of Britain’s efforts to become a member of the Common Market He rejected Labour allegations that the Government had broken pledges to the Commonwealth. Mr Heath said the Common Market would not be the same again. This was not only because of “the way negotiations were broken off,” but because of the “impact we made on the community.” In applying to enter, Britain had been prepared to face up to the need for change in almost every aspect of her national life. Mr Heath accused the Opposition of undermining confidence “in ourselves” in the negotiations.

Mr Heath said some of France's reasons for interrupting the negotiations were fundamental, such as one which stated that Britain had a different background from other European countries. But the answer to such fundamental points was that they were exactly the same when the negotiations began. If they were objections, they should have been stated at the beginning He added that all the objections flew in the face at the Treaty of Rome. “First of all it is said we have not accepted the Treaty of Rome. This has become a parrot cry unworthy of intelligen* men,” he said.

Britain had accepted it late in 1961.

"We also accepted ail the protocols It is pointless for anyone to go on saying this is the cause of the breakdown,” be said.

Britain had put In a few applications for changes to the external tariff of the Common Market When negotiations were suspended, there were difficulties over only tour items, out of 31 items left. “It is said we did nothing about political undertakings and the financial regulations. These political undertakings, if they existed, had never been presented to us,” he said. “Sandys Should Resign’' Mr James Callaghan, the Labour finance spokesman, told the House he thought the Commonwealth and Colonial Secretary (Mr Sandys) should resign, as he had never “felt about the Commonwealth the sentiment that unites most of us.”

Referring to Mr Sandys’ speech last night on the repereusione of the Common Market breakdown. Mr Callaghan said the Prime Minister should find someone "who speaks about the Commonwealth as though he really means it The Commonwealth Secretary never does.” Mr Callaghan said that 84 per cent, of Britain’s world trade was unaffected by the failure at Brussels. There was no reason why British trade with Europe should not continue to grow in spite ot the tariff barrier.

He thought the total loss to Britain from the Brussels failure woud be less than £lOO million and this could be made good by pushing up the growth of exports by' 1 to 1J per cent. It was in the national interest to get on better terms with Britain’s own economy and strength before negotiations over the Common Market were resumed, Mr Callaghan said.