In my view there is not scientific validity to the oft-repeated argument that we are threatened with a wage-price spiral. The recent rise in prices is way above the rise in wages and wages are obviously just catching up. His opponent in the debate was actually a trade union leader John Weston who thought fighting for wage rises would be a waste of time because prices would automatically follow. Second, it is not wage rises that cause rising inflation. The claim that there is a wage-price spiral and that wage rises cause price rises is an ideological smokescreen to protect profitability.