Business of the House

Part of Civil Disturbances – in the House of Commons at 10:54 pm on 16 July 1981.

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Photo of Mr George Morton Mr George Morton , Manchester Moss Side 10:54, 16 July 1981

My experiences in Moss Side last week are different from the experiences of the hon. Member for Wycombe (Mr. Whitney). There are also differences in the experiences of the people living there. I shall not go into the details of what happened in the middle of last week, because I do not have time. It is more important to examine the major causes. Whether there is orchestration, small extremist parties or any other type of operation, or whether the events were imitations of what was seen on television, nothing would have happened without a basic cause.

The basic cause of the problems is unemployment, which hits inner cities harder than the suburbs, young people harder than older people and black people harder than others. Young black people in our inner cities face particular problems and feel a justifiable resentment against society. It cannot be surprising that they are angry about their situation and do not feel respect for society and authority.

The police are in the unfortunate position of having to establish the standards of society. Many officers work hard to establish a local involvement, but in areas such as Moss Side the village bobby approach does not operate. The many officers who try to make contact through youth clubs, schools and the excellent community relations staff of the Greater Manchester police do not appear when the difficult work of dealing with investigations takes place. That is a gap in the present system.

There is an uneasy relationship between local people and the police and many stories of unfortunate incidents. Some may be mythical, but they are damaging to people's confidence in the police. I see the cause of the problems as unemployment, but young people in Moss Side see the police as the cause. Unless we face that argument, we shall get nowhere.

Last week the police were in a horrific position; and their bravery and devotion are unquestioned. They protected people in an exposed position. There is some doubt about how rapidly they moved, but the way that the operation worked and the principle on which it was worked were right, both on Wednesday, when the police held back from provoking a confrontation, and on Thursday, when they moved to prevent the build-up of groups.

However, Thursday's operation raised further problems. The police moved rapidly through the area. There were vans loaded with policemen wearing helmets, riot gear and so on. They had no time to question what the groups they met were doing and although they reassured the majority of people in Manchester, they left a mark of fear among people in Moss Side who were trying to do their normal jobs or to get home. That will make more difficult the establishment of the community policing that many hon. Members have said is essential to establish confidence and to regain long-term control of the situation.

The main issue is the feelings of people in Moss Side and elsewhere, who are afflicted by lack of opportunity, unemployment, hopelessness, despair and lack of purpose. The Government can rightly say that unemployment has been growing over this time, and that the inner cities have been particularly affected. What has changed is that the Government have indicated that they are not primarily concerned about long-term unemployment. They are prepared to offer short-term remedies, but it is no consolation to people who see no long-term solution to have something for six months or a year. We have already noted the Government's contribution to young people leaving school this year, in that they will not be entitled to benefit until September.

People need a sense of purpose and of hope if they are to involve themselves in society. What people in Moss side see is a Britain intent on increasing personal affluence and ignoring the problems of other people. They see the cars of rich commuters passing in and out of the city daily. They see endless television commercials urging them to obtain goods. It cannot be surprising that they are tempted to take goods. They see a Government that give tax concessions to the rich and scrimp and save on benefits for the poor, whether in the form of social security in this country or overseas development.

We must have a change of priorities, to stop the trend of increasing, unemployment and restore the investment in the inner cities and basically, to prove that this is a fair and just society.