Orders of the Day — Autumn Statement

Part of the debate – in the House of Commons at 7:16 pm on 17 December 1986.

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Photo of Mr Robert Sheldon Mr Robert Sheldon Chair, Public Accounts Committee, Chair, Public Accounts Committee 7:16, 17 December 1986

All that I know is that, during the past seven years, my constituency has lost 35 per cent of its manufacturing companies. All that I know is that, seven years ago, pay was higher than the national average, whereas it is now lower. Our unemployment was lower than the national average, and now it is higher. That has happened because of the changes in regional policy.

The president of the chamber of commerce went on to mention the implications of the serious gap between north and south. The House is largely divided between north and south, more's the pity. We used to have the enormous advantage of being a united country. Things that happened in one part of the country tended to happen in another, and people's views in one part of the country tended to be similar to views in other areas. The president said: The implications of this widening gap for the national economy are serious. We now have severe skill shortages and labour shortages in the south east with high unemployment everywhere else … Now we have a growing inability by executives and technical staff to move between the south east and the regions. The problem is the price of houses.

The president pointed out to the Prime Minister that, in Manchester, we search in vain for some indication that Government is adapting its policies to take account of the problem. There was a time when we addressed ourselves to problems and said that there was nothing insuperable in a problem as important as unemployment. We said, "We cannot be considered as an effective Government unless we can solve those problems." The Government are not dealing with the problem. They are dealing with the unemployment figures, but not with the problems of unemployment, and their failure in that regard is one of the most severe accusations that can be made against them.

The president mentioned the Government's failure to decentralise the Civil Service and commented on the massive public investment in infrastructure to serve the Channel tunnel and to complete the M25. There is some anger about the fact that all the giant projects tend to be in the south of England. He also mentioned the expansion of London's three airports and said that those projects will fuel the south east furnace for a generation. The president went on to say to the Prime Minister: The reason you and your colleagues hear so many complaints outside London … is because frankly we do not see a willingness to address this problem. Finally, he quoted from

an illuminating letter from the Parliamentary UnderSecretary of State for Industry … stating the Government's view that London offers the best professional and legal expertise, communications, living and leisure facilities. With that kind of bias, there is no wonder Government is ignoring the vastly superior investment potential of the regions. It is useless to talk about a population movement given the housing market. When I was a young man and I went to a new town to get a job. I could walk down the street and get lodgings easily. One cannot do that today. There was much more mobility of labour in those days than there is now. There will be an increasing division in the country. Not just its economic implications but its political implications alarm me. Of course, we will get a few more Labour seats in the north, but that is not the most important thing— [Interruption.] Please do not smile at this. This is one of the most serious problems facing us. When I get out of the train in Manchester, I can sense the deprivation there. When I get out of the train in London, I can sense the affluence here. I may be wrong. Millions of people in the north may be wrong. But the Government must take note of the strength of feeling that exists and must do something about it.