Aircraft and Shipbuilding Industries Bill

Part of the debate – in the House of Commons at 12:00 am on 22 November 1976.

Alert me about debates like this

Photo of Mr Eddie Loyden Mr Eddie Loyden , Liverpool, Garston 12:00, 22 November 1976

Not only on Merseyside but throughout the ship repair industry, workers will welcome the Government's insistence that the Bill will go through. Conservative Members who talk glibly about the industry fail to recognise that the decision taken by the other place today is cynical and ruthless. The industry has been in the doldrums for many years, since long before the question of public ownership was raised by the Government.

The Opposition argue that the Government should merely take powers under existing authority to provide the necessary capital for the industries covered by the Bill. The Government have already done that for the ship repair industry. The consequences of their feeding tremendous resources into it is not that it has been sustained and that job opportunities have been increased; the opposite is true. They have been going further and further down the spiral, and job opportunities have been decreasing. My hon. Friend the Member for Liverpool, Walton (Mr. Heffer) has pointed out that where there were once 20,000 people employed in ship repair on Merseyside the figure is now down to 3,000-plus.

The story does not end there. We need the industry in the area. We have had close consultation with workers in it, who are hanging on by the skin of their teeth, hoping that the Bill will go through so that they will know the future of their industry. By again overturning a decision of this House, the other place has taken a cynical attitude towards the workers. Their Lordships should take into account the fact that the ship repair industry does not consist of Bristol Channel Ship Repairers alone. Those who argue for the exclusion of that company should think of the industry as a whole. If the company is so effective and efficient, it will have a massive contribution to make to the new nationalised ship repair industry. The Bill should be welcomed as providing a far broader base for the industry and a far brighter future.

The trade unions in the industry have long been in favour of its nationalisation. This has been made clear in policy statements of the Confederation of Shipbuilding and Engineering Unions. Duly elected delegates have said at conferences that they supported public ownership of their industry. That is why I believe that there will be a welcome for the Government's statement that they insist on going ahead with the Bill. The House should be unanimous in condemning the attitude of their Lordships towards an industry that has been waiting for a long time to have its future determined.