Economic and Industrial Policy

Part of the debate – in the House of Commons at 12:00 am on 18 February 1971.

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Photo of Mr John Nott Mr John Nott , St Ives 12:00, 18 February 1971

Apparently the hon. Gentleman would not have handled it in that way, in which case he would not have come out of the negotiations with a renegotiated contract.

I find no argument of business ethics in the Rolls-Royce case. If Lockheed was so foolish as to enter into a contract with a private company on the assumption that the British Government were underwriting it, it deserved to reap the consequences of its miscalculation. That is my attitude. I do not know what ethics or national reputation are involved in the British Government's sticking to the agreement which had been made to advance a set amount of launching aid for an engine. I do not know of any morality that requires a Government to borrow from, or tax, their citizens to uphold a contract which a private company has failed to meet.

I have not time to comment on unemployment, except to say that I am gravely disappointed at one matter in the Chancellor's statement. I am very critical of the announcement about development areas and special development areas. I do not know that we want to have development areas, special development areas, intermediate areas or even a new announcement on intermediate special development areas. The regional development policy is becoming a complete jungle. If we could do so, we should abolish it and start again.

However, I must make one parochial plea. I believe that the unemployment in my constituency is higher than that in any one of these new special development areas. It runs at an average of 8 per cent. for six months of the year in one district and at 12 per cent. in another district. Yet there is no mention of Cornwall. I have no doubt that the Department of Trade and Industry will say, "You represent a seasonal area." I assure the Government that the 8 per cent. and the 12 per cent. unemployed in my constituency do not want to be seasonal workers. They want regular employment. The average wage in my constituency is very much lower than that in any of these Scottish and most of these Welsh constituencies. What my constituents want, if we have a regional policy at all, is permanent employment and permanent work.

I therefore hope that my hon. Friend the Under-Secretary will tell my right hon. Friend who is to wind up that I can see no reason why Cornwall is entirely excluded unless it he, perhaps, that Cornwall since the last election has four Conservative Members whereas most of these constituencies are represented by Socialist Members. Perhaps that is not a very fair remark, but I feel strongly about the matter.

I will now conclude, although I think that I have spoken for only a quarter of an hour.