Tommy Graham: rose—
Tommy Graham: I am most grateful to the hon. Gentleman for giving way. I was interested in the point that he made about sending letters to the Ministry of Defence and not receiving a reply. As the Member of Parliament for West Renfrewshire, I represent Bishopton royal ordnance factory. I am sick and tired of writing letters to arrange a meeting to which Ministers do not reply. The Minister told me last...
Tommy Graham: Although I welcome part of the Government's plans, I am concerned about procurement. Other hon. Members have spoken about the defence industry, which obviously plays an important part in the country's defence. Last week, constituents of mine were told that their jobs at Bishopton Royal Ordnance factory were finished and that the company would close within a year. Arguments have been put...
Tommy Graham: I agree with the hon. Gentleman, but my speech is concerned solely with the Bishopton Royal Ordnance factory. I know that ships were produced in shipyards and guns were produced in other factories and I agree that all those efforts were combined for our armed forces, but that is not the point. I do not want to be sidetracked. I believe that Royal Ordnance Bishopton is a strategic part of the...
Tommy Graham: Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that thousands of people have lived on poverty wages for the past 18 years? They did not like working all week—40 or 60 hours a week—and then having to go with their begging bowls to the DSS. That is an absolute tragedy. The previous Government would have continued to subsidise folk to go to work. That is not what people in this country want. They want a...
Tommy Graham: I congratulate the Secretary of State on his tenacity and on the tremendous deed of introducing the White Paper today against a background of 18 years of Toryism. I have a genuine plea to make to my right hon. Friend. This is a great day for the people of Scotland, especially for the children. We fought the general election on the basis of delivering a Scottish Parliament. Today, our children...
Tommy Graham: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what steps his Department will take to cooperate with local authorities in preparations for a Scottish Parliament. [6691]
Tommy Graham: Does my hon. Friend remember the absolute fiasco that local government was landed in by the Tory Government, and the fact that a lack of consultation and finance led to a disastrous position? I am absolutely convinced that the measure that the Minister has announced will strike up an accord between local authorities and the Scottish Office to ensure that we have one of the most famous...
Tommy Graham: I am absolutely delighted that we are having the Third Reading of the Bill and that we will vote to abolish handguns. I remember, not long ago, meeting John Crozier, a father who lost a child at Dunblane, and I have met other folk from Dunblane. It was one of the saddest and most tragic experiences of my life. I remember the feeling in Scotland when the Dunblane disaster happened. The House...
Tommy Graham: The right hon. and learned Gentleman said, as the Opposition keep saying, that there are folk who will be driven underground and will take part in illegal activities with guns. Surely he is not encouraging folk to do that, once the House has taken a decision on. 22 guns and high-calibre weapons. Let us remember why the debate came about: because of the tragic circumstances of Dunblane. People...
Tommy Graham: I support the Government, although I believe that they have been over-generous. Some of us might have argued that the compensation should be reduced, but I shall support the Government tonight because it is a move in the right direction. I listened to the comments of the hon. Member for Ramsey (Mr. Colvin) on compensation. I remember the debates in the House about the BSE disaster, which...
Tommy Graham: Will the hon. Gentleman give a guarantee that if there was a multi-option referendum in which people could vote for independence, but the people of Scotland rejected that, the Scottish National party would disband and join the other political parties?
Tommy Graham: Is my hon. Friend aware that nearly every member of the Labour party in Scotland supported devolution but did not support separatism? We told the people of Scotland that we wanted a Scottish Parliament along the lines of the Scottish Constitutional Convention. We did not hoodwink or kid the folk that we would lead them down the road of separatism. Why should we listen when the SNP tell us to...
Tommy Graham: Does the hon. Gentleman realise that, under the Tories, 4,500 quango members ran Scotland at a cost of nearly £15 billion? Surely it is time for democratic control by elected members.
Tommy Graham: I have listened to the debate, and I am astounded and stunned by the thoughts expressed by Conservative Members. We have had 18 years of Tory rule, and we have fought the general election. I have been in the House for 10 years, and I can safely say that during that time hardly a week or a month went by without the people of Scotland saying, "When will we get rid of the Tories? When will we...
Tommy Graham: I will let the hon. Gentleman intervene in a minute. Do hon. Members seriously think that the people of Scotland are half daft, and that we are still living in the days of the Picts and go about painted? We are not. We are educated people, and we can see quite clearly when the Opposition are out to wreck a measure for which the people of Scotland have spoken. There is not one Labour Member...
Tommy Graham: The hon. Gentleman would make a fortune in the Glasgow Playhouse. That was comedy at its worst. The people of Scotland have said clearly that they want a Parliament. If the hon. Gentleman wants to intervene again, I will be happy to listen to him.
Tommy Graham: How long has the hon. Gentleman been in the House? I have been here 10 years. The Tory Government never listened to us. We asked them to come up with a devolved Parliament and an Assembly: we pleaded with them, and we tried to do deals to ensure that it would happen. So did the Scottish National party, which has wanted their question on independence. I would not deny them. When the Tories had...
Tommy Graham: I understand where the hon. Gentleman is coming from and I understand where some other Opposition Members are coming from, but I know that the rest, deep down, want a mechanism to stop the process in its tracks because their view about Scottish devolution is so deeply entrenched. I have read some of the nonsense that has come from those who used to be Ministers. I could be here all night,...
Tommy Graham: Will the hon. Gentleman give way?