Does the Minister recall that, a week after we had that crowded meeting in Chichester and 100 people were turned away because they would not fit into the town hall, he decided to throw in the towel?

As for the east midlands, is the Minister aware that, following the closure of all the mines in the area, many of the industries that used to supply hydraulic and other equipment to the pits had to close completely because they had lost their home market, and that therefore many potential exports were also lost? There is another story about the east midlands: a story of despair. As many as 50 per cent. are unemployed in some of the former pit villages, and, following the closure of the mines, there is opencast mining all over the counties. The net result is that imports are now coming in to replace the coal that should have been produced by British miners.