Orders of the Day — British Shipbuilders Bill

Part of the debate – in the House of Commons at 9:35 pm on 23 February 1983.

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Mr. W. E. Garrett:

The hon. Member for Bristol, North-West (Mr. Colvin), who is not in his place, referred to the previous shipbuilding Bill, which took two years to go through its parliamentary stages. I was a member of the Committee that considered the Bill and I well recall the vigour with which the Bill was debated and the acrimony generated on both sides. The then Conservative Opposition were very keen when it came to defending their corner and the private sector.

The significant factor about our 16 Committee sittings and tonight's debate on this Bill is the subdued torte of Ministers and their supporters. In Committee, there was a fair bit of humour and some knowledge was gained, because we learnt much from my hon. Friend the Member for Jarrow (Mr. Dixon) about the problems of industrial relations and working practices in the industry and about some of the characters who worked in the industry. He enlightened many a long weary hour in Committee.

However, when Ministers replied to some of the points put in Committee they were polite and very low key for their temperament—I have seen them display a bit more vigour on other occasions—and at one point I wondered whether they had lost their passion for privatisation and whether something terrific might happen. I wondered whether the Bill would collapse and whether we would all be able to go home to think about it. However, that did not happen and we are now debating the Bill's Third Reading.

I refer the Minister to something that he said early in his opening remarks. He said that the Bill had freed British Shipbuilders from a straitjacket. That is not my impression. I am under the impression that any straitjacket has been replaced by a noose, which can be pulled at any time. When it is pulled, it will kill off British Shipbuilders. Depending on how it is pulled, it will kill it quickly or by slow strangulation. My hunch is that it will be slow strangulation. Either way the Bill could be fatal for the British shipbuilding industry. The industry could fall between the two stools of private and public sector and in the end both would collapse.

I am also at a loss to understand the Minister's quiet satisfaction with the EC's fifth directive, which approved a loan of £20 million for the first six months of this year. It is not the EC's money but our money. It is the British taxpayers' money. Why should it approve money that is raised by the taxpayers and which we should spend? The hon. Member for Southampton, Test (Mr. Hill) said that he was committed to the principles of Europe. If he is still a committed supporter now, we should pity him, because it shows an extremely closed mind.

I should like to reinforce two points. First, the labour force is demoralised. If any hon. Member doubts that, he should go to the north-east coast and see what is happening there. It is no good beating about the bush. One can see all the early signs of further industrial trouble. I warn Ministers that they will bear some responsibility. When industrial trouble breaks out, I hope that they will understand and have broad enough minds to realise that they had some part to play in the troubles that will inevitably come.

Regrettably the Government will kill off the industry if they pursue the division of responsibility instead of trying to heal the nation's industrial relations wounds. They should be bringing together sectors of industry instead of separating them. If they pursue this policy, more and more British industry will be destroyed. The only way that destruction can be stopped is by society at large being prepared to think out issues. If they do, they will reject some of the privatisation policies that have been advanced during this Parliament.

I do not like to be prophetic, but if any hon. Member thinks that this is the last Bill on the shipbuilding industry with which he will be involved in his parliamentary career he will be disillusioned. Whichever party wins the next election, there will have to be further legislation to iron out the anomalies arising from the privatisation of the industry. If the Conservative party were to win the election, the Minister of State and his colleagues might again be in Committee Room 10 or 11 explaining to us why privatisation created more problems for the industry. They will say that they tried it and it was not very good, so they are going back to a public or semi-public body. The Minister may be in the same job. Perhaps he will be a grade higher. If he is, I shall be delighted to sit in the Committee and listen to him giving the explanations.