Second Day

Part of Orders of the Day — Debate on the Address – in the House of Commons at 9:31 pm on 23 June 1983.

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Photo of Mr Patrick Jenkin Mr Patrick Jenkin , Wanstead and Woodford 9:31, 23 June 1983

My first and pleasant duty is to congratulate a remarkable number of eloquent maiden speakers. As the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton (Mr. Kaufman) said, they all paid graceful tributes to their predecessors. That was much appreciated by the House.

My hon. Friend the Member for Derbyshire, South (Mrs. Currie) spoke with all the authority and confidence appropriate to a former chairman of the Birmingham housing committee. She spoke rightly about the popularity of the right-to-buy policy which she said is changing the face of Britain. The right hon. Member for Gorton knows that that policy played its part in ensuring the Government's enhanced majority.

My hon. Friend the Member for Derbyshire, South urged the introduction of a simpler application form for tenants applying under the right to buy. She knows that we must have a procedure which protects the right to buy in the face of authorities which are reluctant or even obstructive. I assure her that when we revise the form we shall consider the suggestions that she has made to my Department.

The hon. Member for Leeds, West (Mr. Meadowcroft) spoke about his constituency. He has had experience on a police committee, and he spoke about the lack of defensibility of some of the housing estates built in the 1960s and 1970s. The Government readily understand his concern. Modern designs must take more account of the problems.

The hon. Members for Houghton and Washington (Mr. Boyes) and St. Helens, South (Mr. Bermingham) spoke movingly about the impact of unemployment on their constituents. No one in the Government underestimates the gravity of the unemployment problem or in any way minimises the personal and family hardships involved. During the election campaign I spoke about little else.

My hon. Friend the Member or Shrewsbury and Atcham (Mr. Conway) is a former Conservative leader of a metropolitan county council—Tyne and Wear—and I therefore welcomed his support of our proposal to abolish the metropolitan councils. I assure him that we are determined to consult and get it right.

I am sorry that I did not hear the speech by the hon. Member for Liverpool, West Derby (Mr. Wareing). I am told that he spoke robustly about the problems in his constituency, of which the Government are well aware. I shall read his perceptive analysis in Hansard and bear it in mind as our policies for Merseyside develop. The hon. Gentleman may like to know that I am proposing to visit Merseyside early next month.

The hon. Member for Caerphilly (Mr. Davies) spoke with confidence about the National Health Service in his constituency. His constituents will welcome the fact that they have a forceful advocate in the House. The House looks forward to hearing all the maiden speakers again in our debates.