Oral Answers to Questions — Employment – in the House of Commons am 12:00 am ar 7 Rhagfyr 1964.
Mr Jock Bruce-Gardyne
, South Angus
12:00,
7 Rhagfyr 1964
asked the Minister of Labour how many skilled and unskilled workers whose last employment was in the construction industry are at present unemployed in Scotland.
Mr Richard Marsh
, Greenwich
At 9th November, 10,364 workers whose last employment was in the construction industry were registered as unemployed in Scotland. Of these, 10,001 were men aged 18 and over, of whom 1,187 were skilled. I regret that an occupational analysis of the remaining 132 women, 224 boys and seven girls is not available.
Mr Jock Bruce-Gardyne
, South Angus
Would not the hon. Gentleman agree that the impact of the 7 per cent. Bank Rate in Scotland will increase the problem of unemployment in the construction industry there?
Mr Richard Marsh
, Greenwich
I should like to congratulate the hon. Gentleman on his supplementary question. For any Tory to weep crocodile tears about unemployment in Scotland requires a degree of brass-faced cheek which is most impressive.
Mr Hector Hughes
, Aberdeen North
Can my hon. Friend say how many of the skilled and unskilled workers referred to in the Question belong to the shipping and associated industries in north-eastern Scotland and what steps he is taking to reduce the number by correcting the delusion propagated by the last Government that the north-east of this island ended at Newcastle-upon-Tyne?
Mr Richard Marsh
, Greenwich
I am afraid that my hon. and learned Friend's Question goes rather wider than the original Question.
Ministers make up the Government and almost all are members of the House of Lords or the House of Commons. There are three main types of Minister. Departmental Ministers are in charge of Government Departments. The Government is divided into different Departments which have responsibilities for different areas. For example the Treasury is in charge of Government spending. Departmental Ministers in the Cabinet are generally called 'Secretary of State' but some have special titles such as Chancellor of the Exchequer. Ministers of State and Junior Ministers assist the ministers in charge of the department. They normally have responsibility for a particular area within the department and are sometimes given a title that reflects this - for example Minister of Transport.
The political party system in the English-speaking world evolved in the 17th century, during the fight over the ascension of James the Second to the Throne. James was a Catholic and a Stuart. Those who argued for Parliamentary supremacy were called Whigs, after a Scottish word whiggamore, meaning "horse-driver," applied to Protestant rebels. It was meant as an insult.
They were opposed by Tories, from the Irish word toraidhe (literally, "pursuer," but commonly applied to highwaymen and cow thieves). It was used — obviously derisively — to refer to those who supported the Crown.
By the mid 1700s, the words Tory and Whig were commonly used to describe two political groupings. Tories supported the Church of England, the Crown, and the country gentry, while Whigs supported the rights of religious dissent and the rising industrial bourgeoisie. In the 19th century, Whigs became Liberals; Tories became Conservatives.
