After Brussels
By Our Common Market Correspondent
FROM the Government's point of view the lining of last month's storm-clouds in Brussels has already turned out to be pretty sterling stuff. In the first place the manner in which the French ended this phase of the nego- tiations produced (in so far as anything so strong can be said to be generated in August) a revul- sion of feeling in favour of Mr. Heath. A flood of letters from obscure Conservative Associa- tions, hitherto extremely silent, are reported to have arrived at the Foreign Office congratulating him on standing up to the French, and promising
support. The marked scarcity of anti-Common Market resolutions doWn for the Conservative Party conference may well owe something to this.
Secondly, the old difficulty of attacking the Government before the full terms of Britain's entry are known has effectively muffled two of. the largest interests involved at a time when an outright declaration, dangerous to the negotia lions, might have been expected from them. • •
The National Farmers' Union's failure to. come out firmly against Britain's entry is Pars. ticularly striking since the logic of their position now points clearly•in that direction. Unless, they- say, the Government goes back to Brussels pre- pared sto • re-negotiate , the two sections of the,. agreement _already reached that cover British agriculture, !the [farming] unions would have no alternative but to oppose the UK's entry.'
A brave clarion call. The NFU knows perfectly. well that Britain has got the best terms she is likely to find on the. subject of the annual farming review and the assurances on farm incomes. It. knows, too, that the Government has not the slightest intention of re-negotiating these terms. But it still holds its fire.
Part of the difficulty is no doubt due to the fact that it is impossible for the NFU to get all it wants without manifestly damaging the inter- ests of Commonwealth producers and, since much of the effective opposition to Britain's entry has been based on the Commonwealth, the Unions dare not go too far without alienating their allies.
The new 'Farm and Food Plan' produced by the NFU with a flourish last week is a desperate attempt to get round this dilemma. The idea is, in essence, to maintain the British food subsidy system, improved by the addition of world com- modity agreements. These, it is claimed, would increase world .prices and therefore the cost of subsidies in Britain. Surpluses would be dumped on underdeveloped„ countries under a World Food Programme. This plan bears some strong resemblances to the French plan for world food which pays the same lip-service to the interests of primary producing countries overseas while being basically designed to meet the interests of the home country. What the NFU is saying basically is 'if we do not go into Europe the Commonwealth is, going to have to limit food production because the present system will not work.' No doubt the Union is right, but there is no use in trying to sound altruistic about it.
In spite of the pending rural by-elections it is difficult to see that either of the main Party Cons ferences is going. to pay much attention to the NFU's plan. Of far more significance is the atti- tude of the TUC General Council. This year Congress might have been extremely awkwardly timed for the Government, especially since a motion in favour of the Common Market by the TUC leadership would almost certainly have been turned, down, by the floor with disastrous results. The ,hitch .41. the negotiations has let thf. General Council.
If, as is possible, Mr. Heath is able to get some general assurance on full employment written into the agreement, the TUC will now alMost certainly support it. And where the TUC goes the Labour Party will probably follow.
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