Sir: With reference to your leader article on the Common
Market — 'Hesitation, evasion and reluctance' (March 8), I should be most grateful if you can point me in the right direction.
My problem basically is this. Ever since January when H. Wilson announced the referendum, clients have been pestering me for detailed contingency planning over a three to five year period, on the basis that the EEC referendum in June will at least ensure one way or the other that we are either in the Common Market or out of the Common Market.
Since that date I have been writing to the Times and the Financial Times, the Conservative Research Department, Conservative Party Central Office, Confederation of British Industry and so on, to establish what broad contingency plans have been drawn up for the eventuality that the referendum opts the UK out of the Common Market. At the same time I have also been pressing for contingency plans on a national basis for what do we do if the referendum ratifies Britain's entry to the EEC: which presumably will herald a massive, investment from our European' partners, British industry, as well as major trading associations in the States and Canada etc.
So far I have had no satisfactory replies whatsoever. Evidently it is a very hot potato and the authoritative. press that I have written to so far will not even publish the letters. I was most interested to read your article as evidently your editorial policy would appear more anti than pro Common Market Frankly, like so many other people, since none of the real issues — economic, social or political, has ever really been. exposed to the British people or even British industry, I am in a complete quandary. If as your article suggests, there are no contingency plans for • either eventuality, such lack of preparedness is a dereliction of duty of the most serious kind. I cannot really believe that is true — surely, at least three years planning is required of the most detailed kind to take a major western economy either into or keep one out of the Common Market. Surely there must be a central co-ordinating unit somewhere? Surely they must have detailed arguments pro and con, a logical proposal to put to the people and detailed contingency plans for the vote going either way. What I need is sight of these broad scope plans so that I can take base information from them and put proposals to my clients who are individually going to be traumatically influenced whichever way the decision. goes.
Your help in this matter will be much appreciated.
Neil Murray Scott Associate Director' Harrison Cowley Advertising Limited, 32 Queens Square, Bristol
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