COMMON MARKET Stn.—May I, following Mr. Peter Baker and Mr.
Carson, and as one of the spoilt children of the Commonwealth, record my fear that Britain's entry into the European Community will be a severe blow to the economies of Commonwealth countries. Not that this view is likely to influence the course which the Government are so determinedly and implacably pursuing in the hope that early consummation of the marriage with Europe may provide them with the enhanced prestige they are persuaded they require to repair their shattered relations with the electorate. But, surely, a United Kingdom government's desperate need for early electoral redemption should not be the determinant of the fate of the Common- wealth; and it begins to look suspiciously as if the Government's main concern at the moment is with getting its hand on the gimmick as soon as possible to avoid being further enaulfed by the electoral tide that threatens to terminate its long period in office. Governments, like individuals, unfortunately, have very short historical memories. Mr. Heath—and his government—appear to have forgotten that not so long ago Britain was only too anxious to preserve those Commonwealth markets that played so important a part in its post-war economic recovery. The United States, for easily understandable reasons, has always resented the preferential arrangements that give special protection to . Commonwealth products and manufactures in the United Kingdom market, So far as my own country, the West Indies, is concerned, however pleasant the soothing syrup administered to them by the United Kingdom in an effort to make the ordeal less painful, this much is certain: Britain in the European Community means slow but certain economic strangulation for them.
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