But for the farm worker and the miners, the steel workers and the textile worker, the railwayman and the post office worker, there are no bogus titles.

And we have seen the deadly effect on our essential services, seen the police in London and other big cities, and those who drive the buses, and the students, on the hospital service, and last week we even read of a famine of linen supplies for hospitals be­cause of a shortage of labour in the laun­dries. And even while we have been here in Blackpool, employers honourably seeking to implement agreements they have entered into with their workers, agreements related to new patterns of productivity, are now appealing, in vain, to the Government to allow them to honour their undertakings. It is Cornish Clay one day, it is British Leyland the next. But Mr. Heath and his colleagues insist on accumulating the grapes of wrath and dishonouring agreements and dividing the British people.

Let us tell him, whatever may be said from this platform next week, you cannot solve the problems of inflation with a public relations exercise; still less can you solve it by appointing a Cabinet Minister, Sir Geoffrey (Alibi) Howe, to camp outside the BBC – ‘Today’; ‘The World at One,’ ‘PM’ and ‘Tonight’ – as an apologist for an indefensible policy. (Applause)

For the first time in the history of this movement, the Labour Party – the National Executive Committee and the Parliamentary Party – and the Trade Union Congress – have reached agreement on a categorical programme for fighting inflation.

We have set out the measures which in our view must be taken as a minimum programme if we are to secure a policy for fighting rising prices and rising rents.

Action to control prices, where it counts, w here the housewife does her shopping.