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5.31 pm
Mr. Tom King (Bridgwater): It is a great pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Rugby and Kenilworth (Mr. King), who delivered his maiden speech. Coincidences often occur in this place, and the hon. Gentleman may be aware that I spent five years of my life--at a rather junior age--in Rugby. I therefore, know the Hospital of St. Cross.
The hon. Gentleman showed a fine disregard of the rules in failing to mention one of Rugby's greatest achievements, which has become a substantial export earner for this country. I watched the poor English rugger team being mauled in Australia, but they earned £2 million in the process, so one can see what a powerful industry was founded by a humble school and a sound disregard for the rules.
I am sure that hon. Members enjoyed the hon. Gentleman's remarks and the sincerity with which he delivered them. We look forward to hearing from him again. He struck one very good bipartisan note. Too often in the House in recent years, we have heard allegations about the total collapse of manufacturing industry in this country. Such attacks do no credit to the fine manufacturing businesses in this country. The hon. Gentleman was right to pay tribute to two fine businesses which stand comparison with any in the world: GEC Alsthom and Peugeot. The House appreciated his references, as will the companies. One never knows one's luck in this place: perhaps the brief entrance and departure of my right hon. Friend the Member for Kensington and Chelsea (Mr. Clark) may secure the hon. Gentleman an entry in a future diary, as other hon. Members have enjoyed--or not enjoyed--in the past.
As a Somerset Member of Parliament, I am disappointed that, because of the breakneck speed of the timetable imposed on the passage of the Finance Bill, my right hon. Friend the Member for Wells (Mr. Heathcoat-Amory)--who wished very much to participate in the debate--is not able to take part as he is helping to lead for the Opposition in Committee. I am sure that the Government will understand that this is a very sad day for Somerset, which faces the prospect of having to rebill every council tax payer in the county. This county, which faces a serious financial challenge and has no balances, now faces a bill estimated at £250,000--totally nugatory expenditure--to rebill the whole county.
I take no comfort or pleasure in telling the House that I gave the clearest possible warning to the Liberal Democrat administration on Somerset county council that
it was virtually certain to face this outcome. Unless one was prepared to ignore totally the Labour party's assertions in opposition and in government and imagine that, within a month of coming to government, it would overturn its most elementary manifesto pledges and loosen the purse strings on public expenditure, one did not need to have much political experience to recognise the risks that were being taken by the Somerset county council Liberal Democrat administration. It took the decision knowingly: it was warned by the chief executive officer, the county treasurer and the county solicitor of the risks involved. Two former county councillors, now the hon. Members for Somerton and Frome (Mr. Heath) and for Taunton (Mrs. Ballard), took the risk and voted for the proposal.
Somerset county taxpayers now face added expense, on top of the money that the previous Liberal Democrat administration wasted on expensive lawyers when trying to ban access to council land. It also wasted money on an abortive scheme to provide sites for new age travellers. The county could have employed 10 new teachers with that wasted money.
Mr. King:
I am sorry, but I must speak directly. So far as I know, my remarks do not relate to Oxfordshire.
I take no pleasure in making these points. We do better for our county if we work together and listen to, and take, advice. I do not claim false credentials in this matter. Two years ago, we fought successfully to raise the cap for Somerset. I see that the right hon. Member for Yeovil (Mr. Ashdown) is in the Chamber: at the time, he kindly congratulated me on my actions. I shall always be prepared to stand up for my county when the cause is just, when a case can be made based on the evidence, and when there is some prospect of achieving a successful outcome.
Hon. Members who read the excellent brief prepared by the Library will see that, when Somerset exceeded the cap, we stood together, fought the case and won it. Those who look at the present case will see that there is no prospect of our taking it to a favourable conclusion.
Mr. Jackson:
One of the Government's central arguments is that they are simply continuing the policies of the previous Administration. However, as my right hon. Friend points out, the previous Administration agreed to increasing the budget over cap in Somerset a couple of years ago.
Mr. King:
I find it offensive that, if the risks had not been taken, the county council could have accepted a perfectly sensible proposal for maintaining the cap and expenditure within it. Funding for education and social services could then have been protected properly. However, that amendment was rejected out of hand. We are back where we started--but £250,000 worse off. The county must now make economies, which could have been achieved through sensible planning much earlier in the cycle, in a rush, well into the financial year. Hon. Members representing Somerset constituencies will have
Mr. Paddy Ashdown (Yeovil):
I apologise to the right hon. Gentleman and to the House for intervening when I shall not be able to stay for much more of the debate. I regret that very much.
The right hon. Gentleman is right to say that we have fought together on a cross-party basis. For that reason I deprecate the fact that he is now making the cheapest party political point. He criticises the argument about breaching the cap, but when the argument was put before the county council, did the Conservative members vote against it? No, they did not. They abstained. The right hon. Gentleman will go into the Lobby tonight to vote against the break of a cap, which he did not oppose originally. That is a totally irrational and illogical position. Does he not understand that?
Mr. King:
The right hon. Gentleman knows perfectly well that the amendment put forward by the Conservative group, which would have enabled the waste of £250,000 to be avoided--[Interruption.] Will hon. Members who are not even Somerset Members contain themselves so that I may reply to the right hon. Gentleman? The amendment proposed by the Conservative group was voted down, calling the entire budget into question. Of course the Conservative group could not vote against the main question or there would have been no budget.
The leader of the Conservative group said that the difficulty was that some wretched Liberal Democrat would say that because the Conservatives had not opposed the measure, therefore they had supported it. I never dreamt that the leader of the Liberal Democrats would fall right into that trap.
Mr. King:
I know that the right hon. Gentleman has to leave, but I hope that he will not mind waiting a moment.
I quote from the right hon. Gentleman's speech in reply to the Budget. He said:
That is outrageous. The letter from the county treasurer today states that the council will look around for alternative savings. I understand that it is not considered necessary to sack 90 teachers this year. Alternative economies can be made. I challenge the right hon. Gentleman to make sure that he stops his colleagues in the Liberal Democrat party sacking teachers in Somerset this year. That must not happen. It would be intolerable if it happened because of the incompetence and risk taking of a Liberal Democrat administration.
The case is not helped if it is accompanied by misleading propaganda. We constantly hear the statement that Somerset had the lowest increase of any authority in the country this year.
Mr. David Heath:
No--county. [Interruption.]
Mr. Deputy Speaker:
Order. There must be no interruptions when an hon. Member is addressing the House.
Mr. King:
Hon. Members say that Somerset had the lowest increase of any county. That is, to say the least, economical with the truth. They do not go on to say that 16 other counties had the same level of increase. What they say is technically true, but grossly misleading.
"Under a Labour Government, my county of Somerset will have to sack 90 teachers this year."--[Official Report, 2 July 1997; Vol. 297, c. 328.]
I give the right hon. Gentleman credit--he has said that before. The leader of the Liberal Democrats and the hon. Member for Somerton and Frome have said the same thing.
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