Sir Walter Clegg: Like the right hon. Member for Manchester, Wythenshawe (Mr. Morris), I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Crosby (Mr. Thornton) on initiating this debate, which is of especial concern to those of us in the north-west. My hon. Friend made some interesting comments in his introductory speech. It can be said at the outset that the problems facing the north-west are not new. I have been...
Sir Walter Clegg: I am not laying all of the blame at the feet of local government—the mania seemed to sweep the whole country. Nor was it peculiar to the northwest. For the very best of reasons, men and women of good will tried to do the best for their communities but landed us with an extremely difficult inheritance in a short time. I am attracted to the motion and the idea of bringing in private industry...
Sir Walter Clegg: Much of the work was put out to the private sector, but presumably the plans were approved by the customer—the local authority—and the Government consented to the buildings. I am not blaming anybody; I am merely describing what has happened so that we might learn the lessons. As usual, the right hon. Member for Wythenshawe made an interesting speech and I should like to take up some of...
Sir Walter Clegg: I did not intend to use RAWP as an excuse. I was in on the early discussions, and it was absolutely necessary if a wrong, which had been created many years before, was to be put right. I do not accept the hon. Gentleman's comments about the Government's treatment of the Health Service. He knows that there are more doctors and nurses than when we came to office. It is a demanding service. A...
Sir Walter Clegg: It is, as ever, a pleasure to follow in debate the right hon. Member for the Western Isles (Mr. Stewart). I, too, welcome the Bill introduced by my hon. Friend the Member for Banff and Buchan (Mr. McQuarrie). It is quite an achievement. Hon. Members receive very little practical help with the drafting of Bills. This Bill is highly technical, and my hon. Friend has had little time in which to...
Sir Walter Clegg: I am grateful to my hon. Friend. I hope that the exhibition will come to Fleetwood, because the manufacturers of this equipment are in the north-west of England. All hon. Members want safety at sea to be improved, but we have to remember the fears of fishermen about the cost of this new equipment. Times are so hard for the inshore fishing fleet at Fleetwood that undue pressure on costs would...
Sir Walter Clegg: I very much hope that that will happen. However, the cost of this equipment has to be taken into account. I am also concerned about the date when the Bill will take effect. It is to take effect within six months of the Bill becoming an Act. We shall have to look at that point in Committee. We must ensure that sufficient equipment is available by the time that the Act takes effect. I was...
Sir Walter Clegg: I listened with interest to the speech of the hon. Member for Kingston upon Hull, West (Mr. Randall). I believe that it is the first time that he has spoken from the Opposition Front Bench, and I welcome him to his new position. There have been all sorts, shapes and sizes of Opposition spokesmen——
Sir Walter Clegg: Indeed. I hope that the hon. Member for Kingston upon Hull, West enjoys his new position. This is a useful debate, although it is highly technical. Reading through the papers has been like threading through a minefield. There is certainly a great deal of gobbledegook per square inch. Perhaps for future debates we could consider producing a summary of the papers, which would be of great help...
Sir Walter Clegg: I had not realised that the southern Scots were as badly off as the northern English. I look forward to what the Minister has to say when he replies to the debate. The documentation refers to a reduction in the size of the Spanish fleet, which we all agree is essential, and to decommissioning proposals. Decommissioning grants have been available in this country, and many owners have been...
Sir Walter Clegg: I was about to say just what the hon. Member for Great Grimsby (Mr. Mitchell) said. That man was luckier than many of the others, partly due to the conditions of service of fishermen. I am concerned to hear that cases are still before tribunals and that appeals are in progress. Obviously we cannot comment on those. However, I believe that for the future of the fishing industry fishermen must...
Sir Walter Clegg: This has been a most interesting debate. The hon. Member for Crewe and Nantwich (Mrs. Dunwoody) was almost incoherent in the way that she put forward her own policies and criticised those of the Government. Having an interest in the North of England Regional Consortium, I was struck by the fact that, even though it is supposed to be an all-party group, the response of Opposition Members from...
Sir Walter Clegg: Is my right hon. Friend aware that many Conservative Members representing northern constituencies disagree a great deal with what has been said by Opposition Members? In fact, the White Paper will be helpful to Manchester, especially as there will be no subsidy to put us at a disadvantage compared to Stansted?
Sir Walter Clegg: I am pleased to be able to raise the Adjournment debate even at the end of a long, weary all night sitting, and I would not have contemplated raising the debate unless I thought it was of great importance to my constituents. I wish to bring to the attention of the House and of the Government the problems that confront the port of Fleetwood consequent upon the loss of its deep sea fishing...
Sir Walter Clegg: I cannot agree with my hon. Friend the Member for Chichester (Mr. Nelson). It is particularly galling to those of us from the north to find that when we are forced to take flights from Heathrow or Gatwick we are supposed to be starting our flights from the south-east and are south-east originated. We are nothing of the sort. We are forced there by a set of circumstances. One of the penances...
Sir Walter Clegg: I trust that the hon. Member for Aberdeen, North (Mr. Hughes) will forgive me if I do not go down the road that he has, because I want to make a constituency speech, and I am not ashamed of that fact, because that is what we are in the House to do. One of the great virtues of fish as a food is that it is easily digestible. I wish that the same could be said about the fisheries documents...
Sir Walter Clegg: I have listened with interest to the hon. Member for Normanton (Mr. O'Brien). As a northerner myself, I appreciate the importance of fish and chip shops and other food take-aways in the north of England. But we delude ourselves if, like the hon. Member for Rochdale (Mr. Smith) we think of this measure as being aimed specifically at the north of England. Fish and chips are sold in all parts of...
Sir Walter Clegg: I shall take notice Mr. Speaker, of what you said about the number of speakers in this debate. I listened with great interest to the speech of the hon. Member for Clackmannan (Mr. O'Neill). What he said about the social aspect of redundant fishermen appeals to me very much. It is a theme that I have pursued in the House on previous occasions. As the hon. Member for Greater Grimsby (Mr....
Sir Walter Clegg: I agree that new vessels are essential, but it is easier for Irishmen and Scotsmen to get new vessels than it is for Englishmen. I spent the weekend with the chairman of the inshore fishermen in my area discussing these measures, as I knew they were to be debated. He took the view, and I think it is the view of the association, that the measures were welcome. They will provide stability, and...
Sir Walter Clegg: It is a tremendous pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Sheffield, Attercliffe (Mr. Duffy), to whom the House has listened with great respect because of his knowledge of these matters and the way in which he expressed himself. He has helped me by demonstrating the need for NATO forces to have a battlefield aircraft that can allow Tornado to operate. As my hon. Friend the Member for...