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there is still an independence movement within Scotland. Yet, we live in one island, we have intermarried, we speak one language, we have free trade and a single currency. We have fought and beaten dictators such as Napoleon, Hitler, and Galtieri. We have won and lost an empire together and yet there are still strains. So, what on earth is the chance of Greece, Ireland, Britain and Denmark working together as one nation, as is suggested by the European federalists? It will inevitably end in tears. It will be a disaster and it will put at risk so much that is good and so much that the British want ; a free market for goods, services, people and capital. A marvellous thing will be destroyed by trying to achieve the impossible. 10.53 amMr. Robert Hughes (Aberdeen, North) : When I saw the Conservative party chairman on television last night, I began to think that the Tory party was getting desperate. The hon. Member for Stockport (Mr. Favell) prays in aid Cobden as a great Tory, which shows that they are truly desperate. They are going further and further back into history to try to justify what is happening today.
One of the problems is that, instead of making a speech which tried to analyse the problems we face, to chart some way ahead and to explain how the real difficulties that the country faces might be solved, the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry chose to indulge in a little parliamentary knockabout, as though the economy were of little account. The trouble is that the same thing happened yesterday, when we heard a speech by the Chancellor, in elegant Treasury prose. It was nicely read out. But he could not bring himself to deal with the real problems. He could not bring himself to pronounce the word "recession", but instead spoke about "weak activity".
A few weeks ago when he was questioned about the problems arising from recession, the Chancellor said that people who speak like that are "over- indulging in reality". What on earth does that mean? It is a wonderful phrase, but it is wholly misleading, and a retreat into fantasy.
As we all know, the problem is that the economy is in great difficulty. This morning, the Secretary of State spoke about short-termism. He sought to chide the Opposition for being more concerned with short-term than long- term issues. The history of the Government has been one of short-termism. In the past 11 years, all we have been offered are palliatives.
I saw a newspaper report the other day that the Chancellor has a tooth abscess, and I commiserate with him. I am genuinely sorry, as it can be very painful. His office said that he could not have the abscess treated for some weeks, but was taking oil of cloves to deaden the pain.
Mr. Tony Banks (Newham, North-West) : Whisky is better.
Mr. Hughes : Yes, whisky is better. As an aside, I hope that when the hon. Member for Crawley (Mr. Soames) goes to Conservative party conferences and gets bottles of whisky he will invite me there, or send them to me because we certainly do not get any at the Labour party conference.
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The Chancellor said that he could not deal with his tooth abscess and has to take oil of cloves. The Government will never face up to a problem but always provide a parliamentary paracetamol in the hope of deadening the pain, when we ought to be dealing with the root causes of the problems and not simply the symptoms. Frankly, the root cause is that the Government will not invest or plan--they are incapable of doing either.Some of my hon. Friends know far more about the steel industry than I do, because it is in their constituencies. The steel industry is a prime example of failure to plan or invest. A few months ago we were told of the problems at Ravenscraig and the jobs that would be lost when the strip mill was closed. Yesterday we were told that the Clydesdale works is to close and that 1,200 jobs will go. It seems ridiculous that British Steel should be shutting down a plant which has great potential for work. There is no shortage of demand for its goods, either in the North sea, which is an important market, or worldwide.
The Government have refused to act and have stood by and watched the butchery of the steel industry. They gave the steel industry a short-term remit and said, "Fatten yourself up ready for privatisation. Buy cheap, sell dear, don't worry about manufacturing, just worry about buying and selling to make a profit."
The problem is that the Government say one thing but do something else. They tell us that they want expansion of trade and manufacturing, but that is always followed by their failure to do what is necessary to get expansion.
A small example in global economic terms, but one which will have wider repercussions was drawn to my attention some weeks ago, when the Prime Minister said that she wanted to expand trade with the USSR, in our own interests--obviously we want to expand trade--and to assist Mr. Gorbachev with his economic reforms.
The Scottish Pelagic Fishermen's Association applied for ECGD cover for its herring trade with the Soviet Union. It was told that it had been withdrawn, that nothing could be done and that it must stand the risk itself. When the association told me about this, I took the matter up with the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry--he is obviously not interested in the debate, but that does not surprise us in the least. It is normal courtesy for the Secretary of State not to turn his back and gossip with those behind him when a serious debate is taking place ; however, that is typical of an upper-class education and the total arrogance with which he deals with other hon. Members.
I received a reply from the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, who said that I must understand that the Government had not withdrawn ECGD cover entirely from trade with the Soviet Union. He said that it was a particular problem with the herring industry, because the state purchasing board was unable to guarantee that central Government would meet its funds ; the risk was therefore too great for the ECGD to take, and it would not intervene.
I do not know what will happen to the herring industry if that cover is not restored. Instead of reacting in a positive way, going to the USSR and trying to solve the problems that have arisen because of a shortage of hard currency, the Government merely say that it is too risky a business--that they are withdrawing the cover and doing nothing about it. That will have serious repercussions for our trade. It simply will not do.
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Recently, the Government have been complaining--perhaps with some justification--about the education system not being too good as regards reading, writing and arithmetic. I hope that the Secretary of State for Transport has been back to school and had his geography brushed up. Perhaps he will now have learnt--we must keep dinning into him if he has not--that the east coast main railway line runs not from London to Edinburgh, but Aberdeen to London and vice versa. It has always been the link between Aberdeen and London ; it does not stop two thirds of the way at Edinburgh.We must deal with electrification and rail freight. All the evidence suggests that British Rail is yet again thinking of cutting its rail freight distribution system in Scotland. That is appalling. The headlines trumpet about the channel tunnel finally being joined up, even though it is only a borehole a couple of inches wide ; the Secretary of State has told us that it will provide a marvellous boost for the economy, and will benefit not just the south-east of England but the whole of the United Kingdom. However, when it comes to ensuring that there is a proper rail infrastructure, and that the regions benefit from the channel tunnel and have a chance to boost their manufacturing and exports, the Government do nothing : they merely stand by.
It is no use saying that the Government make the money available and it is up to British Rail to decide what to do. We know that--apart from official contacts and the exchange of letters--there is real contact with the people who run British Rail, and we know that they listen carefully to what the Government have to say.
I now wish to refer to a matter which is of great importance and becoming even more important. Last Saturday, I wrote to the Leader of the House to welcome him to his new job--it was a genuine welcome. I said that he might have thought that he was leaving the hot seat of education and coming to a quiet backwater. That is not so. The right hon. Gentleman has an important task to perform : he must grasp the nettle and establish a Select Committee on Scottish Affairs. We have pressed for that for a number of years-- indeed, ever since this Parliament came into being.
Paragraph 270 of the report of the Select Committee on Procedure, published on 23 October 1990, states :
"The reasons for this are at one level straightforward--the unwillingness of sufficient Conservative Members representing Scottish constituencies to serve on the Committee."
It goes on, in paragraph 271 :
"We would observe, however, that the inability of the House to agree upon the membership of a Select Committee which its own Standing Orders state shall be appointed' is regrettable. Moreover, the absence of a Scottish Affairs Committee leaves a major Government Department unscrutinised and thus constitutes a deficiency (some would consider a serious deficiency)"--
We all agree with that--
"in the departmentally related Committee system. We agree in principle with the Chairman of the Liaison Committee that the cause of this problem is political and so must be its solution.' Nevertheless the power of initiative in this matter, as in many others, lies with the Government and the House is therefore entitled to look to the Leader of the House to continue the search for a solution, which may require compromise on all sides."
When the very powerful Procedure Committee is prepared to make such a statement, the Leader of the House really must act.
Many things should have been examined, but even now still require urgent attention. The steel industry, the fishing
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industry, the rail infrastructure, investment, the education system and the health service all need probing if we are to discover whether the Government's solutions--such as money going into the health service--are working. We also need to know whether housing issues are being dealt with.The housing problem is growing week by week. Every time I have a constituency surgery, more young couples come to me saying that they have had to sell their house--that they could not afford the mortgage payments any more, that the high interest rates have killed them and that they have had to give up something that they desperately wanted. They tell me that they must have a house from the council. I tell them that they are entitled to a house from the council under the Housing (Homeless Persons) Act 1977. Often they say that they were offered a house, but that it was pretty grotty because no repairs had been carried out. The whole housing fabric is collapsing, as is the Government's home ownership policy.
The problem with the Prime Minister and the Government is that they do not really want a debate about Europe. There are big issues to be discussed about the role of the central European bank--about how it should come into being, if indeed it should, and about how we can harmonise policies and the benefits which can flow from that. Studies done a few years ago show that, if all the countries in the European Economic Community were to reflate at the same rate in a planned direction, the benefits would not relate directly to the number of countries in the Community ; it would be 10 times greater. There would be an immense expansion in jobs and manufacturing if we all worked together.
The problem is that the Prime Minister says that she is against this, she is against that, and she will not have certain things at any price ; in the end, however, she has to sign on the dotted line and meekly accept what the others have decided for us. She then has another tantrum about how bad it is.
I must confess that I have changed my mind about Europe. I was a rampant anti-marketeer and voted against joining the EEC. I campaigned against my own Government at the time of the renegotiation, because I did not believe in the Common Market. However, I have come to accept, perhaps reluctantly-- I am no enthusiast or zealot on these matters--that we are in the EEC and that we are not coming out. We must play our part and ensure, not just in our own interests but in the interests of our European partners, that we react constructively.
It is no use the Prime Minister wrapping herself in a union jack and thinking that it is some type of shield to ward off evil. Nor is it any use if the Scottish National party, whose Members of Parliament are absent today, wraps itself in the tartan flag and thinks that it is some sort of shield that will protect all our people from the ravages of Thatcherism. It is no use, either, making rhetorical statements about the need to defend the steel industry if the SNP does not take part in debates, on the ground that it has a little tartan shawl that it can put on to protect it from the cold and that it will be a shield to ward off all evils. There is more in common between the Treasury Bench and the SNP than one would imagine.
The Government face a great task. They must face up to our economic problems and to future constitutional developments. Everyone knows, however, that they are failing the people of this country. Part of the message was received last night in two constituencies. The sooner we get
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rid of the Conservative party in every constituency and have a change of Government, the better it will be for us all.11.10 am
Mr. Nicholas Soames (Crawley) : I am grateful for this opportunity to speak in the debate on the Loyal Address. I admire the hon. Member for Aberdeen, North (Mr. Hughes) for having changed his views on the European Community. We all have our own views about it. I do not know whether he heard the speech of the right hon. Member for Plymouth, Devonport (Dr. Owen). It was one of the best speeches that I have heard him make. He is a distinguished speaker. He said that at times he despairs at the way in which the country deals with fundamental issues.
I make no comment about what the hon. Gentleman said, but it is extraordinary that my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister should have been unable to go into the recent negotiations without the whole hearted support of the House of Commons in order to secure for our people, in difficult circumstances, their rights and the protection of their most fundamental interests. These issues ought not to be trivialised by ordinary cross-party banter.
Mr. Thomas McAvoy (Glasgow, Rutherglen) : Will the hon. Gentleman give way?
Mr. Soames : No, I should like to continue with my speech, if I may.
There is considerable agreement on both sides of the House about the issues. We cannot afford to allow ourselves to drift into the extraordinary morass proposed by Mr. Delors. He is an out-and-out federalist. The nation state faces real danger from federalism if it ploughs on regardless and gets sucked into it. We are not prepared to allow that to happen. That does not alter our real desire, as set out by my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary in the last few days, to play a proper, constructive and creative role in Europe.
Mr. Tony Banks : What is so sacred about the concept of the nation state? The nation state grew out of a series of amalgamations of principalities and kingdoms. Why do we stop at the nation state? Why do we not go further? The hon. Gentleman does not feel that history has suddenly come to a halt, does he?
Mr. Soames : No, I do not, but I believe that the nation state gives character, courage, strength and form to a people. That is not always completely understood by our European partners. Ours is an entirely different experience from theirs. The nation state does matter. I understand what the hon. Gentleman says but I have respectfully to disagree with the inference that he draws. I welcome my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry to his post, and congratulate him on the startlingly splendid start that he has made. He carries with him the good will of the House as he embarks on his important job.
I warmly welcome the fact that the Gracious Speech includes the measures that my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Transport has decided to implement to reform the law relating to the punishment of people who are convicted of drunken driving. In the last few years, two
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families in my constituency have felt deeply let down by British justice. In the first case, a young man was run down by a drunk driver on a zebra crossing and killed. The criminal was fined £250 and banned from driving for 18 months.That was a contemptible and disgraceful dispensation of the law. Therefore, I am glad that a new offence, following the
recommendations in the North report, is to be created that will carry a mandatory prison sentence of up to five years. It will catch those who are guilty of what is no more and no less than murder. I am delighted that that measure will put right a grave omission in the body of our law. I am sure that the whole House welcomes it. I am delighted that there is to be legislation to deal with public utilities that dig up our roads, thus causing those of us who have to move around our towns and cities such dreadful inconvenience. The inter-city services are becoming remarkably good. It is a pleasure to travel on British Rail at its best, although it is a swine to have to travel on it at its worst. At its best, British Rail shows what it can do when it puts its mind to it. Nevertheless, the commuter is still poorly served. My constituents enjoy a better service than those who travel on other lines into London, but even my constituents have to put up with disagreeable conditions. When they reach London, they have to travel on an underground which, even at the most charitable, can only be described as a disgrace. The Government have invested massively in London Underground and enormous sums are to be invested. Nevertheless, the Government ought to be aware of the deep and abiding resentment of all those who, every day, have to make a very unpleasant and disagreeable trip on the underground. It is not a fit system for a great capital city. I congratulate my right hon. Friend on the steps that he is taking to improve it. The Government should be under no delusion, however, as to the seriousness of the system's deficiencies.
I refer also to the airline industry, since Gatwick airport lies within my constituency. I am therefore disappointed that the Queen's Speech contains no reference to that industry. It is a truly British success story. It receives no subsidies, yet it contributes mightily to the British balance of payments. It is regulated by a competition policy that is largely a sham. It does not receive the Government assistance that it needs if it is to fight international competition. The airline industry needs the Government's vigourous and robust support in its fight for access to overseas markets, just as overseas interests are fighting daily to secure access to the United Kingdom market. The Secretary of State for Trade and Industry is as intimately involved in this issue as the Secretary of State for Transport. Of course they fight our corner.
I hope that the Government are aware of the major commercial battle that is raging in Europe, which will determine whether London will continue to remain Europe's principal gateway for long-haul traffic or be displaced by Paris, Frankfurt or Amsterdam. If London is to preserve its position, our airports must be organised to meet the needs of airlines and their passengers, not as supermarkets and property companies. I shall have something to say about the BAA later in my speech.
If London is to continue to compete with Paris and Frankfurt, passengers must be able to reach the airport in comparable time and comfort. Our competitors are expending huge sums in improving their surface access
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systems. It is imperative that, without delay we get on with the Heathrow--Paddington rail link and make getting to the airport a normal journey instead of the obstacle race that it is today. It is of the highest urgency we extend the link to Liverpool Street, so that the City and the west end are brought within reasonable reach of Heathrow. We must proceed with the construction of terminal 5 at Heathrow, and bring the City airport into fully effective operation. It is quite extraordinary that a capital city of the importance of London does not have a proper, fully integrated helicopter facility linking it with Heathrow and other destinations. Environmental and other considerations must be taken into account, but it is extraordinary that a city of this importance does not have that facility. The decision-making process must be speedy and effective. We must have decisions, not endless procrastination and debate.Heathrow is a major two-runway airport. Gatwick is a single-runway airport, and I am glad--I say this in the presence of my hon. Friend the Minister for Public Transport--that the Government have acknowledged that they do not wish to construct another runway at Gatwick, which would be physically impossible. Stanstead is a single-runway airport. If an additional runway is needed early next century, it would be madness to consider a fourth London airport with only one runway.
The more pressing need is for terminal capacity at Heathrow, tied to which is the need for the rail link which is grinding its slow way through the House. That is just the start. Of course we welcome the cross-rail link but what about railway links to the midlands, the north and the west? What about the channel tunnel? Would it not make sense to decide now that we need a rail link from the channel, linking Gatwick and Heathrow with the midlands and the north? Every other major airport in Europe is tied to the network. Paris airport and Amsterdam are on the channel tunnel line. If we are serious about maintaining London's status as the major intercontinental gateway, we must provide the necessary infrastructure and terminal capacity where passengers want it.
Alone in Europe, our industry is completely in the private sector. Our aircraft manufacturers, airlines and airports are all shining examples of the remarkable benefits of privatisation. We are heading towards the single European market, but let us make no mistake : our European partners are also our most serious rivals and competitors. I pay tribute to the Department of Transport, which has pressed ahead with liberalising measures. Too many European Governments still protect their national carriers from the rigours of international competition, which is bad for the customer and for the airlines. The Government must maintain their pressure on European Governments. In the presence of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, I should like to mention competition with our American friends. They may have invented domestic deregulation, but they are highly protectionist in international aviation. No foreign airline is allowed access to their domestic routes or even meaningful investment in a United States airline. That is a wholly unacceptable state of affairs, and my right hon. Friend will have close regard to the interests of Britain's carriers in the future negotiations on United Airlines' and Pan Am's slots at Heathrow. He will ensure that British interests are properly considered.
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I am only a partial fan of the British Airports Authority. Its technical expertise is outstanding, but any organisation that allows people to travel from, and be kept in, the conditions that prevailed at terminal 1 at Heathrow throughout the summer is a disgrace. I hope that my right hon. Friend will consider a possible reference to the Office of Fair Trading or the Monopolies and Mergers Commission to ensure that the British Airports Authortity does not abuse what is undoubtedly a monopoly. It is unacceptable that passengers who wish to travel in the United Kingdom are treated like cattle. Much more needs to be done to ensure that our people are properly looked after. The Government are making, and have made, mammoth investment in road building, and there are further substantial increases to hand, but travel on Britain's main roads and motorways, particularly on the M1 and M6, has become a nightmare. In the 1990s, it is unacceptable for people to be stuck for hours on end on a motorway without any information, help or succour while appalling accidents or chemical spillages are sorted out.The Government must, as a matter of the greatest urgency, secure far greater and better information systems on motorways, which would prevent people from taking slip roads if 10 miles further down the motorway there is a 15-mile queue. That would not be difficult to achieve, it would not be expensive and the Government must act. Transport costs are unacceptably high and traffic delays are totally unnecessary.
I am sorry to have detained the House for so long. We increasingly have, under my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Transport, a much better and more cohesive transport policy. I broadly and wholeheartedly welcome the transport developments in the Queen's Speech and look forward to the swift enactment of the proposed legislation.
Several Hon. Members rose --
Mr. Deputy Speaker : Order. Hon. Members will recall that Mr. Speaker said at the commencement of our proceedings that he intended to apply the 10-minute limit on speeches between 11.30 am and 1 pm but that it might be relaxed in the light of progress. Given the progress that we have made, it will be unnecessary for me to invoke the 10-minute limit, but I very much hope that hon. Members will not take this as a licence and will recognise that we shall still need some restraint if every hon. Member who is seeking to catch my eye is to be called.
11.27 am
Mr. Malcolm Bruce (Gordon) : I shall endeavour to follow your strictures, Mr. Deputy Speaker.
The simple messages from the by-election results that are relevant to our debate are that the Government have been seen, first, to be deeply divided on a fundamental issue and, secondly, to be substantially mismanaging the economy. They have lost the confidence of people who have supported them over the past 10 or 12 years. Unless they are prepared to respond to that, they will suffer a humiliating defeat. If they choose to reject the constructive comments of Opposition Members and of people outside, they will pay a high price. They must listen to what people are saying and consider the practical implications.
The Liberal Democrats have always believed in a free-enterprise, market- based economy. We have that in common with the Conservative party, and to some extent
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it divides us from the Labour party. We acknowledge that the Government have a clear responsibility within such an economy to promote investment, research and competition and to regulate monopolies. In that regard, the Government have been conspicuously unsuccessful and unwilling to tackle the problems, possibly because they draw their finances from large companies which benefit from their ability to operate monopolies to their advantage.We are now witnessing the consequences of a series of mega-mergers that have taken place over the years and that should not, in the interests of competition, have been allowed to go ahead. Scandals have occurred, as we saw in the recent Guinness trials and in the Polly Peck affair. They are the consequences of the climate created by the Government, who have aggravated the situation by their policy of privatising state monopolies with wholly inadequate measures to ensure competition or effective regulation.
The hon. Member for Crawley (Mr. Soames) complained about a lack of competition in airline policy. Many people associated with British Caledonian feel bitter about the way in which that issue was handled and about the disgraceful conduct of the Monopolies and Mergers Commission, which rejigged the whole bid and came out with an approved bid that was different from that which was referred to it in the first place. That was a disgraceful operation, which worked against the interests of the consumer.
I will, as one who flies regularly on British Airways, give two examples of how BA operates in monopoly terms. When I was a new Member of this place, I made representations to the chief executive of BA because the company operated its shuttle services to Glasgow and Edinburgh at mealtimes with no mealtime service. When I remonstrated with the company about that, I was told that I did not know anything about running an airline, that there was no customer demand and that it had no intention of providing such a service. When BA found that British Midland was operating competitively in that area and was offering a mealtime service--and that BA was suffering a major customer haemorrhage--it revamped its whole operation and provided a mealtime service on those runs.
But when I fly from Heathrow to Aberdeen, where there is no competition, I find that, while the catering is reasonably adequate, when, for whatever reason, there is a shortage of aircraft, the tendency is to pull the Aberdeen service rather than those services where BA faces competition.
That means that the last flight to Aberdeen is sometimes withdrawn and Aberdeen passengers are abandoned. The response of BA's chief executive is, "If foreigners are stranded at Heathrow, they have nowhere else to go." Where are Aberdonians supposed to go at Heathrow when they have missed the last flight? They cannot take Air France to Paris. The nub of the issue is that there is no choice and no competition.
The situation has been aggravated not only with airlines but with British Telecom, British Gas, the way in which the electricity industry is being privatised, and with British Steel--which brings me to some remarks of the hon. Member for Aberdeen, North (Mr. Hughes). British
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Steel's current method of operation is a classic example of short-termism in the climate that the Government have created. Without doubt, British Steel is pursuing short-term profits and is sacrificing medium-term and long-term markets. That is against the national interest, and because British Steel can operate as a monopoly in the domestic market--knowing that no other company can move in, so that it can effectively vandalise its own assets if it is not prepared to use them--it can treat the Scottish industry in the way it is currently being treated.Leaving aside assurances given to the Government and hon. Members, it is clear that British Steel is determined to phase out the entire steel industry in Scotland. The hon. Member for Langbaurgh (Mr. Holt) is usually here on these occasions and pours scorn on what he describes as moaning Scots. Our objection to what is being done to the Scottish steel industry is based on the fact that the Ravenscraig operation has been profitable and that it has contributed substantially to British Steel's turnaround in profitability because of the productivity of the work force there, as has been admitted by the chairman of British Steel. Similarly, the Clydesdale tube works is closing simply because of the failure to invest in modern technology to enable the works to compete.
British Steel has an appalling record of abandoning our steel markets to foreign competitors, to the aggravation of our balance of payments and our national market share. We are entitled to expect the Government to intervene on competition grounds and to explore, realistically and actively, the possibility of creating an independent private company to provide British Steel with the competition that it needs and deserves. The Government should test out the possibility of getting proper investment into the Scottish steel industry, possibly with new plants and locations.
The business climate in general affects businesses in every constituency. Although I was not able to spend time in Bradford, I am sure that the responses given were similar to those that I heard in Eastbourne, where many business men and women who had supported the Conservative party said that their enterprises had been crippled by the consequences of the Government's failure to control inflation and of high interest rates.
The state of affairs has been compounded by the uniform business rate, which has been set at the top level of inflation, at 10.9 per cent. If the Chancellor's forecasts of inflation turn out to be correct, what will he do for small businesses that have faced the top levels of inflation and have had to absorb their costs? What consolation can there be for businesses that fail as a result, even though inflation may subsequently be brought under control? They will have failed as a result of being excessively penalised.
The North sea oil and gas industry is of particular concern in my constituency. I have had close though indirect, association with the industry for about 15 years and I have great admiration for the technological achievements of the industry in finding and bringing ashore the oil and gas. About 20,000 of my constituents are employed in the industry, and major oil company operation headquarters are located in my area.
I am concerned over the feeling among those working in the industry about current offshore safety practices. The recent dispute arose from a bubbling over of frustration and resentment. It was not the best way to get the matter resolved, and we do not have a happy situation. We should
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not sit back and accept what has occurred. The Government should accept some responsibility and be concerned about the implications of the dispute.The hon. Member for Aberdeen, North and I, among others, attended a meeting in Aberdeen recently where we heard some disturbing things from representatives of the workforce. The idea that the oil companies can tell contractors, "We will not allow you to employ, as part of your contract, workers who were involved in the industrial dispute and who refused to leave the platform," is, I argue, secondary action by employers that would be illegal if it were carried out by employees. It is difficult in such circumstances for offshore workers to conduct an industrial dispute or strike in an attempt to bring pressure on an employer.
In the context of yesterday's results by the oil companies, it must be acknowledged that the separation of retailing from production should not readily be accepted as a justification for oil company policies. When I was a member of the Select Committee on Trade and Industry there was an investigation into petrol retailing, with a reference to the Office of Fair Trading, which declared that there was no malpractice.
That happened because it approached the issue in the wrong way. It accepted the oil companies' argument that petrol retailing was a separate business that lost money, and that that justified the companies passing those losses on to the consumer. But that is to ignore the fact that huge multinational integrated oil companies gain the benefit of windfall wholesaling and production profits. It is wrong to say that consumers must absorb losses on retailing and that producers can pocket the producer profits with no benefit to the consumer.
In those circumstances, when oil companies measure the cost of increased safety in the North sea against the profit background, it is difficult for them to say that they cannot afford such measures. There has to be a cost- competitive recognition of the environment in which the firms operate, but safety cannot be compromised to that extent against the background of those profit levels. I understand that the drop in production in the Brent complex has so worried Shell's partner, Esso, that it is taking a much more direct interest in the management of that field and is concerned about safety and production problems that may arise if the present dispute is not resolved.
My next two points relate to transport issues of direct concern to me. The Government have pursued a policy of responding to increased traffic pressures on the roads by increasing the spending budgets on the roads to the detriment of railways, in particular. That is a mistake, and I do not believe that the Government will solve the fundamental traffic problems in that way. All they will do is attract more cars to create more jams.
Some radical measures may be necessary, and I do not dispute the case for road improvements. I freely admit that I campaigned for some in my constituency, partly because we were neglected when previous investments were made. That was proved by the statistics that the Scottish Office published in response to my questions. It is simply unacceptable for the Government to say that the east coast mainline will effectively stop at Edinburgh and Edinburgh to Aberdeen will be treated as a branch line, which cannot justify the investment if it cannot prove an 8 per cent. rate of return.
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Leaving aside the correct estimate of return, which seems marginal, either the London-Aberdeen route is the arterial rail line of the United Kingdom or it is not. Clearly, the decision taken by British Rail and supported by the Government is that it is not, which we find unacceptable.The Minister for Public Transport may want to argue that strict criteria of economic return are applied to British Rail, but there are also strict criteria on how road developments and improvements are calculated. If he checks with the Scottish Office, he will find that the decision to upgrade the A74 to motorway status does not meet those criteria. I am not opposed to that upgrading, but a clear political decision was taken by the Government because they believed that they had to respond, and the same political decision should be taken on the Aberdeen-Edinburgh electrification link.
The quality of service between Aberdeen and Inverness is appalling. The frequency of service on routes south of Aberdeen is inadequate and indicative of the rundown planned by British Rail. Only yesterday, we heard that another London service is to be diverted to Poole. Apparently there is a great demand for travel from Aberdeen to Poole--I do not believe it, I think that the traffic is south of Aberdeen. We also lost one sleeper earlier this year. Those attitudes are simply disastrous for the economic infrastructure of districts such as the north-east of Scotland.
The signs are that rail freight will effectively disappear from the north- east of Scotland once the present review is completed. I spoke to representatives from a paper mill in my constituency that at present imports chalk by rail from English China Clays. They said that, if the rail freight service is discontinued, they will import the chalk, and English China Clays will lose the business. That is the sort of consequence we face. If we are to talk about a single market, those of us in the north- east of Scotland, representing districts with a great record of successful exports to the continent, are entitled to be part of the national and international network. The Government's failure to recognise that will be strongly held against them. It is not in the interests of the local or national economy for them to behave in that way. I urge them to recognise the strength of feeling being expressed and their responsibility to respond.
11.44 am
Mr. Gerrard Neale (Cornwall, North) : In the absence of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry and the Opposition spokesman, the hon. Member for Dunfermline, East (Mr. Brown), I congratulate my right hon. Friend on his sterling performance and generous remarks about the Opposition. I also congratulate the hon. Member for Dunfermline, East, who used every opportunity to exploit the position held by any Opposition spokesman at present. He reminded me of one of my constituents, who I am sure would have said, "I admire that Mr. Brown. He tells me what he is going to tell me, and tells me, then he tells me what he told me, but the trouble is, he never tells me what it will cost." The hon. Gentleman's speech was littered with examples of how one can pull down the country and criticise it in a range of ways without costing any of the
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measures. His proposals would have led to a remarkably inflationary economy way beyond what we have now, had they been enacted. In the hon. Gentleman's absence, I suggest that if he looks back at the period up to 1979, when the Labour party was in power, he will see the adverse effects that regional aid had on the west country, and how vast sums were spent to try to persuade companies to come to Cornwall that would not otherwise have come because of the economic disadvantages for those companies. They were advised to go against economic and financial sense and, as a result, there were several dramatic collapses that ruined the lives of many people who were drawn into companies that should never have been set up in Cornwall in the first place.Since 1979 there has been a dramatic increase in investment in roads and infrastructure by the Government. That has provided a real attraction for industry to come to Cornwall and many more companies have set up down there. It has led to much greater employment and had a beneficial effect on wages for local people who have had to compete for labour. It has been splendid news for the county. I spoke in exactly the same terms when I made my maiden speech in 1979 ; regional aid can have a distorting influence on a district such as Cornwall and will not benefit it.
Mr. John P. Smith (Vale of Glamorgan) rose--
Mr. Neale : For the Opposition to press the case as they do is to ignore the practical implications that companies and businesses consider when they are looking to set up in constituencies and districts such as mine.
Mr. Prescott : I dispute the hon. Gentleman's argument about regional funds. I wish to give an example that is relevant to transport. The public subsidies of the section 8 grant were used in an innovative way for the china clay business. The subsidies were used not only for the rail lines but to provide wagons, which sustained the china clay business because it allowed the clay to be taken to Scotland by rail. That is good not only for jobs in Cornwall, but for the country and the environment. Does not the hon. Gentleman agree that that is a profitable use of public money?
Mr. Neale : The great majority of china clay produced by English China Clays in Cornwall is exported by ship. Much of it is taken to various ports serving the country. The hon. Gentleman must address the fact that if there is a marginal loss in any business--British Rail should be no exception--and it has a number of diversified activities, it should consider whether to bear one marginal loss against profit in other sectors. The hon.Gentleman should know--if he does not, he should look at the figures--that British Rail's freight transport is in a desperate state in terms of the loss that it sustains. Any Government and the board of British Rail must address that problem.
In the autumn statement yesterday the Government gave the welcome news that they are increasing investment in British Rail and roads. As my hon. Friend the Member for Crawley (Mr. Soames) said, when service on British Rail is good, which it often is, it is exceptionally good. Only a few days ago I had cause to travel from Euston. The station is in excellent order : it is clean and attractive. My
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trains left and arrived on time in both directions. I must say that I was rather startled at British Rail's generosity, however. I should hate it to be thought that I travelled without a ticket, but I certainly succeeded in travelling in both directions without my ticket being inspected at any point. I arrived with it intact. I wish to address one angle of road safety, which is road use. I echo the plea made to the Secretary of State by my hon. Friend the Member for Crawley concerning information systems on motorways because that is an exceptionally important matter. I also wish to highlight the frustration that arises from long delays caused by coning in areas where only one or two people or perhaps none are working. I know that my hon. Friend the Minister is extremely diligent in those matters and I would ask him also to bear in mind the problems that arise when contractors who have taken steps to remove cones during periods of heavy traffic nevertheless leave the signs in place. All the traffic then slows down, only to find that there is in fact no hold-up. I use the motorway system a great deal. I usually travel by car to my constituency in the west country and I know that there is a whole range of ways in which the use of our motorway system could be greatly improved. The removal of such signs is one of them.I understand that is is intended to introduce much stiffer penalties for overtaking on the inside on motorways, which is a very dangerous manoeuvre. But I hope that my hon. Friend the Minister will examine the reasons why motorists do that. As my hon. Friend the Member for Crawley suggested, it is largely because of the lack of information and guidance telling them to stay on the inside unless they are in the process of overtaking.
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