Orders of the Day — Employment Relations Bill

Part of the debate – in the House of Commons at 4:48 pm on 9 February 1999.

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Photo of John Redwood John Redwood Shadow Secretary of State for Trade and Industry 4:48, 9 February 1999

My hon. Friend is right to say that the clause will be extremely damaging if it is passed in its current form and construed in that way by the courts. I hope that my hon. Friend will speak on that subject, either today, if he catches your eye, Mr. Deputy Speaker, or as a member of the Standing Committee, if he is invited and prepared to serve on that important Committee.

I am delighted that the Secretary of State chose Asda as one of his two prime examples of companies offering good practice. Our case is that the way to achieve better employment standards is through the promotion and encouragement of successful businesses, rather than by means of blanket legislation, which industrial advice urges us not to pass at this juncture. The Government promise fairness at work, yet they deliver industrial collapse. Yesterday, we saw the worst output figures in manufacturing in 18 years—Labour Members try to look shocked at that news, but it is true. I do not know whether they read the newspapers or visit their constituencies: the factory closures and redundancies occur more often in Labour constituencies than in Conservative ones, because Labour Members still represent the industrial heartlands of this country.

Day by day, we see job loss after job loss, factory closure after factory closure; we see Rover in crisis, the north-east in meltdown, and the textile industry suffering from retrenchment. We believe that having a job is more important than giving new rights to trade unions. All the Government do, as they watch manufacturing retreat, is make it dearer and dearer to make things in Britain.