Part of the debate – in the House of Commons at 9:46 pm on 28 February 1991.
As is usual in Welsh day debates, hon. Members on both sides of the House have voiced their concerns about various aspects of life in the Principality. Naturally our proceedings have been affected by the successful conclusion of the war in the Gulf. We were all sorry to hear of the death of Lance Corporal Francis Evans of Flint, but delighted with the news of the return of HMS Cardiff.
We were all moved by the swansong of my hon. Friend the Member for Clwyd, North-West (Sir A. Meyer). I certainly thank him for his kindly reminiscences and comments, and especially for the reference to Len Hutton, who was knighted in the same birthday honours as me.
Much of the debate has been taken up with the state of the Welsh economy and with rising unemployment. l must cheer up Opposition Members by saying that things are going to get better and not worse. We all know that the rise in unemployment is attributable to high interest rates, which are necessary to squeeze out inflation. However, the remedy is working. Inflation is on the way down, and who can doubt that interest rates will follow? After all, there have been two reductions in interest rates in a month.
Most of us know by now that the cost of reducing inflation is lost jobs, but this time we began from a record high level of employment, so unemployment is certainly not as bad as it was in 1986. In the past ten years, we have built a stronger and more diversified Welsh economy, which is far better able to weather the rough waters of a recession.
One matter was referred to time and time again during the debate—our manufacturing base. As I said in my earlier intervention, since 1986 manufacturing employment has increased by some 41,000 jobs, or nearly 20 per cent. We want to build on that. I do not know where the right hon. Member for Llanelli (Mr. Davies) got the idea that we were against manufacturing employment, given that we have been doing everything possible to increase it.
I have high hopes for the future of the Welsh economy. Since 1979, we have established more than 800 new plants, providing 55,000 jobs. A further 29,000 job opportunities have been created by expansions at existing plants. We are not talking about inward in vestment alone. There has been growth in other sectors, too. In September last year, for example, there were 78,000 more self-employed people than in 1979—an increase of more than 63 per cent., bringing the total to 201,000.