15 APRIL 1972, Page 18

Solving inflation

Sir: Searching after political economy is not the same as searching after commercial economy. Usually those experienced in the former and dependent on votes are not experienced in the cut and thrust of practical commercial economy of £.s.d. (or should one now say £p, hard financial results. Many years ago, another Prime Minister, Ramsay MacDonald, in 1929 had the idea of an " economic General Staff." It would assist those involved if they examined this lesson of history. Vol II of Whitehall Diary devotes quite a few pages to the aspects of acutely different ideologies. Now the problem is further complicated by state inflationary policies and the consequential effect on the nation's economy. Therefore the primary solution seems to lie in a drive to make state inflationary policies non-inflationary and reducing the bureaucratic and political methods. One doubts whether Great Britain is entitled to spend any more time now on the Common Market, when by far the most vital problem is solving inflation and its consequences to unemployment and standards. Whether they have acted wisely, or set a good example to industries, is a matter for MPs of all parties to consider.

E. A. F. Fenwick Waren House, Waren Mill, Belford, Northumberland.