extracted from "The Observer" HAROLD LEVER COMFORTS BIG BUSINESS

extracted from "The Observer" ",... Labour was.a party that preached sweeping nationalisation= 30 years agoees Nationalisation was then seen as the sovereign remedy for a fundamental economic sickness , Today, with the worst social evils of 30 years ago overcome in a mixed economy, lbverty is sem in a remediable social accident. Clause Four or no Clause Four, Labour's leadership plainly believes in a mixed economy..es People well to the Left of Mr. silson have become aware that the good society is not produced by universal stateownership on the Iron Curtain model, 1nd that both efficiency and freedom are better safeguarded in a socially-guided but fragmented economy, complete with a large and vigorous private sector. The fact that steel is to be subjected to some form of pubiic-ownership does not put in question Labour's rejection of large-scale nationalisation. Steel is the only industry due to be treated in this way. The explicit and particular commitment in this case has made difficult any alternative policy. Labour's economic plans are not in any way geared to more nationalisation; they are directed towards increased production on the basis’ of the continued existence of a large private sectar... though profits may be squeezed temporarily by taxation and government price policy, they must and will, over a longer period, increase significantly even if not proportionately to increased production. Share values will continue to reflect assets and earning power- even after a 40% Corporation Tax and a Capital Gains Tax which, at 30%, can hardly be described as confiscatory.e.. "+e & Government that takea responsibility for guiding private industry towards socially useful ends makes business enterprise more reputable and hence more durable. The successful business man will increasingly be seen aS a valued executant of public policy rather thn as a self+ seeking adventurer... No individual or economic group works well in an atmosphere of public disapproval, and Labour leaders should understand that businessmen, too, have their susceptibilites; they are entitled to good repute as well as reasonable profit, ‘For their part, businessmen should show less sensitivity and more sense. It is time they realised that a ringing political slogan is often used as a sop to party diehards or as an anaesthetic while doctrinal surery is being carried out... For 18 months, when he was vulnerable to pressure from any small group on his Left, Mr. Wilson showed no sign of departing from his moderate courses or of softening his forthright exposition of them. The deterrent to rebellion with a big majority, as with a small one isthe danger of defeating the Government. hr.wWilson is no more vulnerable now than he was after Octover'64, He has no more reason to swerve from his chosen path of moderation than he had then,"