Mr Mike Hancock (Portsmouth South)

I thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker, for giving me the opportunity to make my maiden speech today. I come hotfoot from Portsmouth with a message for both sides of the House, but I should first pay tribute to my predecessors, Ralph Bonner Pink and Frank Judd, my constituency having been formed by the amalgamation of substantial parts of Frank Judd's constituency of Portsmouth, North and the previous constituency of Portsmouth, South represented by Ralph Bonner Pink.

In Ralph Bonner Pink the city of Portsmouth and the House of Commons enjoyed the services of someone dedicated to public service. He carried out his duties with integrity and honesty and with great support from the city of Portsmouth. I knew him for 15 years. For much of that time we both served on Portsmouth city council. He is a great loss to the city and it is a tragedy that his death occurred such a short way into a term of office in this House.

Frank Judd served the city well as a Member of Parliament for 13 years. In the early part of my political life I looked to him for support and guidance and I learned a great deal from him about the politics of people. He was a fine constituency Member. As a politician in this House, I hope that I shall emulate the impression that Frank Judd made on me as a young local councillor.

The message that brings me to my feet was spelt out time and again by the three main candidates in the recent by-election in Portsmouth, South. The issue of defence was argued at public meetings, press conferences and on the doorsteps. It was done so by the Conservative party candidate, who had a difficult enough task, because in the past Portsmouth has been let down by the promises made in Tory party manifestos, particularly in the election material distributed on the Government's behalf in the city.

There were promises about defence jobs, a commitment to naval spending and a commitment to the defence industries of Marconi, Plessey and Vosper. For one reason or another best known to the Government, things have fallen far short of what was initially promised. Mr. Rock, the unsuccessful Conservative candidate, in his first or second press conference, gave an assurance that not one job within the Portsmouth dockyard or naval base would be lost through compulsory redundancy from October onwards. He said that he gave that assurance with the permission of the Secretary of State for Defence. I hope that the Minister will give a firm assurance from the Government Front Bench tonight to back up that statement on jobs and the threat to Portsmouth.

When Mr. Rock's predecessor sought election in 1979, he promised the city that no job would be lost in Portsmouth dockyard and that Portsmouth would be—as it is seen to be by the people of the city—the defender of the realm and the bastion of naval power. He assured the city that Portsmouth would continue to be the country's premier naval base. Yet within two years of that election promise, Sir John Nott was savaging not only the dockyard and naval base, but the defence industry generally in the city.

The people of Portsmouth need the assurance that I have requested of the Minister. They do not want it through newspapers or press conferences. It should be given here, where the responsibility lies.

The Labour party's attitude to defence also came up. Time and again its candidate went on record as to where she stood. She was a member of CND, in favour of unilateral disarmament, even in favour of NATO, but not in favour of American bases in this country or of cruise.

The real dilemma faced by the people of Portsmouth, South was the false promises of the Government candidate on the one hand and the forked-tongue approach of the Labour candidate on the other. I am glad to say that those people saw the sense of the alliance's approach to defence. The defence policy advocated in our manifesto, both in this by-election and in the general election, was based on realism and a commitment to NATO. Not only did we say that we were in favour of NATO, but that we had a commitment to accept some of the responsibility that goes with belonging to NATO.

That meant that we welcome, as Portsmouth did two weeks ago, the NATO fleet consisting of a sizeable element of the American sixth fleet. The aircraft carrier Eisenhower paid its third visit in two years to the city, and the people of Portsmouth welcomed those sailors as fellow members of NATO and defenders of the free world. The commitment of the citizens of Portsmouth was spelt out loud and clear to those visitors.

Many of the people who voted for me saw through the shallowness of the Labour party's commitment, which is in favour of NATO but does not welcome American ships or bases in our country. The Labour party does not want the responsibility that goes with being a member of NATO. Instead, the people of Portsmouth whole-heartedly accepted where we stand. By accepting that responsibility, we also accept that those bases should be here. We accept that a nuclear deterrent is essential if we are to prove to aggressors that we have the potential to defend our people.

Defence and jobs are of key importance to my constituents. They would not lightly have forgiven me had I accepted this office without taking this opportunity to spell out to the House the problems that they face. They want an assurance from the Government that their jobs are safe, not only within the naval base but in the other dockyard-related industries around the city. They want to see Vosper Thornycroft thrive and look forward to a frigate contract being given to that company. They also want to see Marconi and Plessey continue to prosper.

I read the maiden speeches of my predecessors with some interest, particularly the speeches of those who were elected to the House in the 1960s. They described Portsmouth as a city with only one major industry—the dockyard. In the main, that is still true today, although the problem is now defence in its wider context. It is that from which the people enjoy their economic stability.

My election is a clear sign that the people of Portsmouth have rejected the two alternatives with which we are faced in the House today. It would be nonsense for the alliance to support the Government because of their commitment to Trident, which will undersell our ability properly to advocate conventional forces to defend our country. It would be equally foolish for alliance Members to support the Labour amendment, which is the complete opposite of what we stood for in the recent by-election—a stance that was whole-heartedly supported by the SDP and Liberal Members who came to fight the campaign.

I read with interest the Government's intention in the Estimates to do more for health, education and accommodation for the services, and I look no further than my own constituency to see how inadequate those provisions are for the people who depend so much on the Government for assistance. I again urge the Minister to look seriously at the Government's intentions on the welfare of service families and the well-being of the children of service men living in large garrison towns such as Portsmouth and Gosport.

When I rose to speak, I felt like Voltaire, who, when asked on his death-bed whether he would renounce the devil, said, "This is no time to make enemies." I suppose that a maiden speech is no time to make enemies, but the people of Portsmouth would not have been pleased with my election five days ago had I not taken the opportunity of telling the House of how they feel about the inadequacies of both the other parties on defence. I am living proof that a vote for the alliance in Portsmouth was a vote for sane defence policies that are based on realism and that are very acceptable to the electorate.

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