Walking Backwards We all remember the dramatic story of the
Anglo-Irish Free Trade Area negotiations; of how Mr. Wilson, 'having nothing to do,' casually wandered into Lancaster House around midnight to find the talks hopelessly bogged down. Sizing up the situation in a flash—the codex Haroldus continues—our hero took over the driving seat from the hapless Mr. Bottomley, and with as much aplomb as if he were dispatching tins of condemned corned beef to drought-ridden Rhodesia, steered the conference back on to the road to a successful conclusion before wander- ing, once more, out into the night.
We all remember that load of rubbish; but what did the resulting Agreement actually say? Well. I have been reading it. And Articles VIII and IX. relating to agricultural trade, are very rewarding reading indeed. For among other things they make provision for the possibility of the existing agricultural arrangements coming to an end and the British Government wishing to introduce a new arrangement 'in pursuance of an obligation under an inter-governmental com- modity agreement or for the implementation of any other arrangement for the purpose of orderly marketing' (my italics).
As if this were not clear enough, an exchange of letters between the two ministers of agricul- ture and published as an official appendix to the treaty spells it out: . . in the event of the Government of the United Kingdom. . wishing to implement an arrangement of the sort referred to in paragraph (1) of article VIII or in para- graph (4) of article IX, which involves the regula- tion of imports of an agricultural product by means of a minimum import price system enforced by levies. ...'
No wonder the Labour party has kept so mum about the Tories' plan to switch to a Common Market-type levy system. Can it be that even Mr. Wilson is at last beginning to walk back- wards into Europe? If so, I wish him every suc- cess. But wouldn't he have a better chance if-he actually faced the way he is going? He can't still be frightened of his own left wing, now, surely.
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