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The Minister for Housing and Planning (Keith Hill): I beg to move, To leave out from "tourism" to the end of the Question, and to add instead thereof:
"welcomes the Government's commitment to London's continuing economic, social and cultural success, and to enhancing its status as a world class city; applauds London's high levels of productivity and success in attracting inward investment that benefits the whole of the UK; recognises that this success is backed by record levels of funding from this Government for education, health, the arts, culture, creative industries, crime prevention, transport and other key public services that have resulted in substantially higher employment, substantially lower unemployment, record police numbers including more community support officers and police on the beat, massive increases in bus services and people using them, with an extra 100 million bus trips and an extra 180 million tube journeys taken a year; applauds the leadership of the Mayor of London, working in partnership with the Government in the key areas of transport, planning, economic development and policing; praises the work of the police and security services in remaining vigilant to keep the capital safe; and condemns outright Opposition attempts to talk down and undermine the continued success of our great capital city."
I congratulate the hon. Member for Cities of London and Westminster (Mr. Field) on what I believe is his maiden appearance at the Dispatch Box. Personally, I thought that he carried it off rather well. His speech was a minor triumph of style over content. I must remind him that he was speaking to a motion and that words are generally supposed to have meaning. The words of this motion are a farrago of nonsense. They talk down our great city, sell London short and deliberately fail to recognise the huge progress made in London in recent years as a result of the excellent work and co-operation between this Labour Government and our Labour Mayor and Labour Assembly Members. That is why I have to advise my hon. Friends to vote against the motion.
Let us look at the motion in more detail. It claims that London's "enviable competitive advantage" is now under threat. What world are the Tories living in?
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London is a great world city with world-class cultural and sporting resources, world-class universities and a business community that is a key engine of national economic growth. London is renowned for innovation, entrepreneurship, style and dynamism. More than 300 languages are spoken here, reflecting the wonderful diversity and strength of our population. London has more than 200 theatres, 125 dance companies and 395 public libraries. That incredible social and cultural diversity draws skilled workers from all over the world.
Mr. Dismore: Will my right hon. Friend give way?
Keith Hill: Of course I will give way to my hon. Friend, but I must warn hon. Members that, if they will forgive me, I do not intend to take many interventions. In these short debates, it is important that as many Members as possible have the opportunity to speak. I personally aim to speak for not more than 20 minutes.
Mr. Dismore: I very much agree with what my right hon. Friend says about the diverse nature of our city. Can he comment on the views expressed in our local newspapers by Councillor Brian Coleman, a GLA Member for Barnet and Camden, about Middlesex university? He described it with a four-letter word beginning with c because it accepted so many foreign students.
Keith Hill: To be honest, I was not aware of that. I am pleased that I was not aware of such a nauseating comment and wholeheartedly condemn those sentiments, in which I am sure that all decent Members join me.
London's huge economic dynamism means that inner London is by far the richest region of the European Union, with a GDP per head of 260 per cent. of the European Union average. Ten years ago, under the Tories, the per capita GDP of London was less than £12,000. Now, under Labour, it is more than £19,000. In 1992, under the Tories, unemployment in London stood at more than 780,000. Now, under Labour, it is down to 450,000. Since Labour came to power in 1997, unemployment has fallen by more than 40 per cent.
Contrary to Tory claims, London provides a highly competitive environment that encourages innovation and experiment. Its productivity levels are 25 per cent. higher than the national average and closer to American levels than to UK or average European Union levels. London acts as the main gateway for international investment. It is one of the world's top three financial centres, alongside New York and Tokyo, and is by far the largest in Europe. It accounts for 31 per cent. of global foreign exchange turnover, and 48 per cent. of world turnover in foreign equities trading. London's attractiveness to foreign firms is demonstrated by the fact that it has 447 foreign banks—more than any other city in the world.
The motion refers to an "ever increasing tax burden". What on earth can the hon. Member for Cities of London and Westminster mean? There is not a shred of evidence to suggest that London is taxed more heavily than anywhere else in the UK. It is perfectly true that it is enormously prosperous and successful and that its success contributes to the prosperity of the UK as a
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whole. As a result of that success, it is, of course, a net contributor to the Exchequer, together with the wider south-east, with the amount estimated at between £7 billion and £17 billion each year. That is an interesting fact to which many of my London colleagues, including Ken Livingstone—and, indeed, myself—have been known to draw attention from time to time. That net contribution is a consequence of our progressive taxation system, in which the wealthy contribute proportionately more than the poor. We make no apology for that: we are the party of the many, not the few. To set the record straight, I ought to point out that, because of London's needs, public spending in London is among the highest of all UK regions, at 1.2 times the UK average and, in transport, it is 2.75 times the UK average.
In his motion, the hon. Gentleman draws attention to the shortcomings of London's transport system and it would be a foolish politician who sought to deny the stresses and strains of a public transport system that has suffered decades of under-investment and is now striving to cope with the consequences of economic success. But it is pretty rich for a Conservative politician to attempt to lay the blame for London's transport problems on this Government and this London Mayor. Between 1992 and 1997, it was the Conservative party in government that slashed capital investment in London's tube system by no less than half, cutting it massively from £700 million a year to £350 million. It is this Labour Government who are investing £1 billion a year in London's underground system under the public-private partnership, a programme that over the next 15 years will deliver a tube system that is more efficient, more reliable and fit for the 21st century, with, at last, "a decently modern metro", for an underground system that carried almost a billion passengers last year.
This Labour Government have worked with the Mayor to secure a transformation in London's bus services. Since 2000, the Government have more than doubled Transport for London's budget, which has risen from £1.2 billion in 2000–01 to over £2.5 billion in 2003–04. As a result, London bus occupancy is now twice the level of that in other English metropolitan areas, bus use has increased by 30 per cent. since 2000, bus mileage is higher than at any time in 40 years and public satisfaction with London's bus services is at the highest level ever recorded.
I understand that the Liberal Democrat mayoral candidate plans to cut those services. I pay full tribute to Ken Livingstone for his clear recognition that only through a rapid expansion of bus services could London's immediate transport needs be met. I congratulate him on what he has achieved in the past three years in improving London's bus network.
Keith Hill: I will not give way to the hon. Gentleman. I am certain that he will have his chance to speak and, if I know anything about the hon. Gentleman, he will explain himself at considerable length.
The work that we have done on London's bus network is another excellent example of Whitehall and City hall working together. I also pay full tribute to the
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Mayor for his courage and vision in introducing the congestion charge, which has been an outstanding success.
Mr. Forth : On a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. Is it in order for the Minister, of all people, to cite the alleged brevity of his speech as an excuse to take no interventions? Surely the whole point of a debate in this Chamber is to allow an exchange of views. Is there anything you can do to protect us from a Minister who will not take part in a debate?
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