Mr Charles Fletcher-Cooke: Does my right hon. Friend accept that he or the Minister for Trade gave the trade unions in the textile industry a categorical assurance that the MFA would be renewed, as far as was in our power, as soon as possible? Is my right hon. Friend therefore taking the initiative in the matter, which I hope he is? He is only one among many, and if he cannot build in a recession clause will he at...
Mr Charles Fletcher-Cooke: Did my right hon. Friend hear the Leader of the Opposition yesterday suggesting that the Chancellor of the Exchequer should be borrowing yet another £2 billion in the current year? Has he made a calculation of what further debt interest would be payable by the taxpayer if the Chancellor followed that advice?
Mr Charles Fletcher-Cooke: Yesterday, members of the viewing public were treated to an interview between the Leader of the Opposition and Mr. Brian Walden. Many hon. Members may have heard Mr. Walden ask the Leader of the Opposition how he would have financed his Budget. The staggering reply was that he would have increased the public sector borrowing requirement by £2,000 million. When I heard that, I thought that...
Mr Charles Fletcher-Cooke: I did my hon. Friend an injustice. I believe that the latter is preferable to the former but that my suggested destination is better than either. What is the effect of the Budget on unemployment? Everyone, including the Government, appears to assume that unemployment will rise. I am alone in this Chamber in believing that the overall effect of the Budget will not be so. I ask hon. Members to...
Mr Charles Fletcher-Cooke: Certainly. The firm is called Lester's Office Cleaners. The hon. Gentleman will find that it has offices in London and Lancashire. I am afraid that I cannot give him the telephone numbers, but he can look them up in the directory. The gentleman who is the chairman of the firm, Mr. Barry Lester, is also the president of the Institute of Office Cleaners. If the hon. Gentleman wants any further...
Mr Charles Fletcher-Cooke: I fear that I cannot support my Government in the Lobby tonight, but this is not because there is anything in the Bill that I find offensive. After the brilliantly clear exposition of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland, I feel more friendly towards it than when I entered the Chamber. The reason why I cannot support the Government is that something very important is...
Mr Charles Fletcher-Cooke: Has my right hon. Friend any word of comfort or hope for the patient and long-suffering holders of Rhodesian bonds?
Mr Charles Fletcher-Cooke: This defective directive has been going about for a very long time in one form or another. There is also the report of the Pearson commission on the same subject. When may we expect the Government to make up their minds on the subject?
Mr Charles Fletcher-Cooke: When can the North-East Lancashire development association expect an answer to the deputation that went to see the Minister's colleagues some time ago? Is he aware that the association has been awaiting an answer on the question of an extension of time between now and when assistance is removed? When my hon. Friend talks about concentration and gulfs, will he explain why the area represented...
Mr Charles Fletcher-Cooke: Do not my hon. Friend and the Commission realise that the protection given to yarn manufacturers will be worthless if carpet manufacturers are not protected? Does he not accept that yarn makers sell their protected yarn only to carpet manufacturers and that every carpet manufacturer is going out of business?
Mr Charles Fletcher-Cooke: Has my hon. Friend had an opportunity to consider the case of my constituent, a small business man in Blackburn, who sought the help of the counselling service for his industry and was told by the Department that he would be able to get some assistance if he moved into a special area but that he could not now get it in Blackburn? Will my hon. Friend bear in mind that sort of case when he is...
Mr Charles Fletcher-Cooke: As my right hon. Friend's announcement heralds a great expansion, particularly in the number of terminals that will be available, does he not agree that that warrants, and, indeed, demands, an examination of the law of privacy in relation to computers and particularly the information stored about individuals?
Mr Charles Fletcher-Cooke: I want to speak very briefly about competition from our high-wage competitors. In his excellent speech the Secretary of State said that this accounts for about 60 per cent. of our import penetration. Different considerations apply to high-wage competition from those that apply to the Third world and the MFA. The high-wage competition causes our main problems now. For the past 25 years we...
Mr Charles Fletcher-Cooke: I accept that my right hon. and learned Friend's statement represents a perfectly fair and reasonable compromise between the difficult conflicting interests involved in this matter. However, has he considered one or two of the consequences? For example, has he considered the potential damage to the reputation of a juror who is asked to stand by for the Crown? Does he recollect the situation...
Mr Charles Fletcher-Cooke: Is not the increasing cost of energy one of the greatest burdens from which the paper and board industry is suddenly suffering? Is my right hon. Friend aware that the enormous increase in energy prices is breaking the camel's back?
Mr Charles Fletcher-Cooke: Will my right hon. Friend look again at the question of Friday morning sittings as they affect Government statements? Does he agree that the experiment of interrupting the proceedings at 11 o'clock for Government statements is not satisfactory either to Ministers or to hon. Members, and that it would be better if the House met at 10 o'clock, if 9.30 be too early for Ministers, when perhaps...
Mr Charles Fletcher-Cooke: Meanwhile, will my hon. Friend bring the figure of 9.8 per cent. for the Blackburn area to the attention of his right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Industry when he is considering whether to prolong the intermediate development area status for that area?
Mr Charles Fletcher-Cooke: Does the right hon. Gentleman know that, when this matter was debated in the Legal Affairs Committee of the European Parliament, the Commission could not produce a single case that involved distortion? I am not saying that I am not in favour of the principle, but to base it on article 100 is dangerous, because it may be challenged in front of the European Court as being ultra vires.
Mr Charles Fletcher-Cooke: Article 2 provides that, in the instance quoted by the right hon. Gentleman, both the person supplying the materials and the person who makes them up are producers.
Mr Charles Fletcher-Cooke: I begin by mentioning my worries about the constitutional position and the amend- ment. We are discussing a directive, and not a regulation. If the directive is passed by the Council of Ministers, the House will have to translate it into law in a form that British courts can interpret. Once the directive is passed, we are obliged to observe its substance and principles. We cannot divert or...