Manufacturing Industry

Part of the debate – in the House of Commons at 9:09 pm on 16 October 1991.

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Photo of Tony Blair Tony Blair , Sedgefield 9:09, 16 October 1991

We shall come to the employment action scheme, but first I must point out that for 18 months unemployment rose by more than 800,000, yet the Secretary of State did not lift a finger to help the unemployed during that time. More recently he has excelled himself and thrown all caution to the wind. Clearly, he belongs to the school of political thought that believes that the less credible someone's position, the more extravagant the claims in support of it.

Last week on the "Today" programme the right hon. and learned Gentleman was asked by Mr. Brian Redhead about the 1,000 jobs to be lost at the Ford motor company. Did he accept that as a problem, a result of the difficulties caused in the economy? He said: Well, I think people understand, Brian, that in a dynamic economy you have to have change. So: record job losses, rising bankruptcies, soaring business failures are all evidence of a dynamic economy. One almost felt as if the right hon. and learned Gentleman thought it unreasonable of the Ford work force not to be celebrating.

There is no bad news, therefore, that is not good news; no disaster that is not, on reflection, a triumph; no evidence of recession that is not, after all, a sign of recovery. And this is the party that asks us to trust it.

No doubt the 400 jobs lost yesterday at the Norwich Union are evidence of a dynamic economy; likewise the closure of Rolls-Royce in Crewe, the 400 jobs lost at Asda, the 300 jobs at Hawker Siddley, the 740 jobs lost the week before at Ferguson television, the 1,000 lost at Eagle Star and the 300 job losses announced in this debate by a Labour Member. Are these really evidence of a dynamic economy? When, after the next election, the Secretary of State loses his job perhaps he will call that the result of a dynamic economy—it is certainly the only guarantee that we shall get one.