Anti-Business?
One convenient aspect of the Finance Bill (con- venient for the Government, I mean) is that
its fearful complexity has successfully concealed much of its meaning from the general public. Many people are likely to be unpleasantly sur- prised on learning what the law is, once the Bill has ground its way through the Commons. A major task for the Opposition is simply to explain the nature of the Kaldor-Callaghan revo- lution, Sir Ian Lyle, that wholly unabashed free-enterpriser, is under no illusions about it. His pamphlet published this week, The Crisis for Free Enterprise, is a rousing call to free enter- prise to 'fight for its existence' in te face of the Government's threats. Mr. Brown and lesser ministers may voice injured complaints that they are being misrepresented as 'anti-business': but politicians must be judged by their deeds, not their words, And, as Sir Ian writes: 'Britain's future lies in the production of wealth. The best incentive for producing wealth is the right to own and increase it. The Socialists are now changing the direction of our economy by means of a policy of penalising ownership. If this policy is continued for any length of time it will destroy the initiative of free industry.' Old-fashioned nationalisation is not the only way of achieving a state economy, as I dare say even M r. Fred Lee would agree.
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