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Sir Teddy Taylor (Rochford and Southend, East): It does not matter two hoots whether one is a Euro-sceptic or disillusioned. It is abundantly clear from the directive on the 48-hour week that the European Commission is prepared to bring in the social chapter by majority vote, using the health and safety provisions. Surely it is a denial of democracy to spend all this time arguing about an issue when there is nothing to decide.
Does the hon. Gentleman not accept that, irrespective of his attitude, that of the Opposition or anyone else, the battle was lost when the European Commission brought in the 48-hour week under health and safety provisions, according to the majority vote? Does he not accept that it could behave like that on every aspect of the social chapter?
Mr. Coaker:
I do not accept that. The Government are putting forward an alternative point of view. We are talking about working together in Europe. Perhaps we will not get everything we want every time, but, by being a co-operative member of the European Community, working to achieve common goals, the impact on our country will be far greater than it would be if we tried to achieve such goals on our own.
Mr. Radice:
The working time directive was not decided under the social chapter. It was brought in under health and safety regulations which are already in the treaty of Rome. The argument of the hon. Member for Southend East (Sir. T. Taylor), who is my colleague on the Treasury Select Committee, is irrelevant to the social chapter. He has read it and he knows that many matters are not subject to qualified majority voting, including, for example, those relating to social security and social provision. Social provision, which has been spoken about most by the Opposition, is governed by a national veto.
Mr. Coaker:
I thank my hon. Friend for that intervention; his experience in such matters speaks for itself.
Some specific benefits are starting to be apparent from the employment and social chapter provisions. I do not believe that there is anything more important than making job creation and employment the top priority in Europe. I believe that our people and those in Europe would agree with that.
The Government believe that we can create more jobs and better employment prospects by working together. The title on employment included in the treaty refers to that and to the need to increase the scope for skills and training, which is particularly important. It advocates that
all the policies of the European Union and its nation states should take into account the need to create employment opportunities and promote equal opportunities.
Once we have such social polices in place, we can begin to tackle unemployment and social exclusion. The amendments tabled by Conservative Members are designed to wreck the Government's aim. Why should our workers and families be denied the same rights and standards as those enjoyed by people in the rest of Europe? That question needs to be answered. Conservative Members would deny our citizens those standards.
Other improvements have been agreed in the face of continued opposition from Conservative Members. This morning in European Standing Committee B, we discussed the part-time workers directive, which is designed to ensure that part-time workers have the same rights and entitlements as full-time ones. The hon. Member for Buckingham (Mr. Bercow) may raise his eyes in amazement, but such workers are looking forward to further legislation to protect their rights at work. If we are serious about creating flexible labour markets, we need to ensure that part-time workers have the same rights as full-time ones and that they are protected at the workplace.
It is important to consider the implications of the European works councils directive, which also points to the right way forward. Conservative Members disagree with the idea that workers should be consulted and involved in decisions about planning for the future. That directive is a significant attempt to involve workers in their companies. Such involvement would help to create the motivated work forces about which I have already spoken.
Another directive of particular importance, with far-reaching repercussions, is the parental leave directive. Many people will not understand why Opposition Members are opposed to it. It does not reflect the old type of society that Conservative Members want to represent, but the new, modern society in which we live. If Conservative Members want to deny the fact that parents increasingly want to be with their children either at their birth, or some time during their early years, they are not living in the same world as I do. That directive offers not only unpaid leave for child care, but leave to parents who need it for urgent reasons.
Mr. Derek Twigg (Halton):
Would it be true to say that the attitude of the Conservative party suggests that it is anti-family?
Mr. Coaker:
Their attitude reflects one of the key features of the election and of this debate: the fact that the Conservative party represents the old values of the Britain of yesterday and the new, vibrant Government represent Britain as it is today and people's demands as we move forward. The parental leave directive is all about improving standards at work, increasing flexibility and trying to work together with the rest of Europe to solve common problems. If Conservative Members disagree with that statement, they deserved to lose the last election. Only by working together can we achieve common success and tackle common problems.
Sir Teddy Taylor:
I shall make a short, simple speech--I guarantee to take no more than two minutes--and I hope that the hon. Member for Gedling (Mr. Coaker) will think about what I say.
It is a bad thing to hand over the power to make laws to another body if one cannot do anything to change those laws when they go wrong. Time after time with Europe, we have seen promises go wrong, and there is absolutely nothing we can do about it. Take agriculture policy: this afternoon, we witnessed the pathetic sight of a Minister trying to pretend that health considerations were involved in his decision on bovine spongiform encephalopathy. We all know that that is a load of codswallop, but the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food is desperately seeking any way to get the curtailment of trade with Europe removed, and he believes that introducing all sorts of strange new health proposals will help somehow. The Minister is a nice person, but we are kidding ourselves if we believe that.
What can the hon. Member for Gedling do about agriculture policy? He knows that it is going terribly wrong and that it is costing his constituents a fortune. He knows that it is an insult to the poor people of the world that we are spending millions of pounds destroying food. I am sure that as a member of the Labour party, he is upset at our spending £1,200 million on growing high-tar tobacco that will end up in the third world. I am sure that he is offended and outraged by all that, but there is nothing that he can do about it. The main argument against transferring powers is that if things go wrong, there is nothing we can do about it.
To that extent, the social chapter and all the things the hon. Gentleman was talking about are a big problem--a democratic problem. If he wants to introduce proposals to improve the lot of working people in co-operation with other nations, that is fine. We can hold expensive conferences in five-star hotels, which I am sure some Labour Members would be glad to attend. We could agree with other European countries to take action together on a national basis in a way that would give us a let-out--if things went wrong, we could do something about it. Despite the unhelpful intervention by the hon. Member for North Durham (Mr. Radice), who is usually more constructive, I hope that Labour Members will appreciate that whether we are Euro-sceptic or Euro-enthusiasts, all the stuff about the social chapter is deliberately misleading the people of Britain. Whether or not we have the social chapter, the laws can still be applied to us.
I remember that the previous Conservative Government were keen to protect the interests of Great Britain and its people and anxious to do so promptly. When we heard that the 48-hour week directive was to be applied through health and safety legislation, the Government got terribly angry--and rightly so. They said, "Surely these European chaps cannot do that--it is illegal and wrong." The Government took action by going along to the courts to try to get it sorted out, but sadly they failed. The hon. Member for North Durham is correct in saying that if we want to change social security laws--for example, to give extra protection to single mothers, as some Labour Members want--we cannot do so by majority vote. The plain fact is that, as the experience of the 48-hour week directive shows, the sort of social legislation that we have been talking about tonight can be applied through health and safety.
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