Industrial Relations

Part of the debate – in the House of Commons am 12:00 am ar 4 Rhagfyr 1973.

Danfonwch hysbysiad imi am ddadleuon fel hyn

Photo of Sir Ian Percival Sir Ian Percival , Southport 12:00, 4 Rhagfyr 1973

I start by echoing the good wishes expressed by my right hon. and hon. Friends on the appointment of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State. I wish him well both on personal grounds and for the practical reason that if he is successful in these matters he will achieve something which I believe that most hon. Members on both sides of the House want, namely, an improvement in industrial relations.

One of the features of today's debate has been that the tone has been rather less bitter than that of many of the debates we have had on the subject. A good deal of it has been given to searching—or perhaps at this stage it is only groping—for some common ground rather than a desire to be at loggerheads over everything. I, for one, appreciated those parts of the speech of the hon. Member for York (Mr. Alexander W. Lyon) which were on those lines. He was good enough to point out some of the arguments on both sides rather than concentrate on one side, and I am anxious to make a similar contribution.

I have to start with a point that may be a little controversial, however, for I do think it was most useful for my hon. and learned Friend the Member for South Fylde (Mr. Gardner) to give us so much detail of what has happened. The judge, as we knew, had nothing to do with deciding which funds were seized in pursuance of sequestration. If what my hon. and learned Friend says is right, neither did the commissioners know that those funds were allocated for political purposes.

The hon. Member for Bassetlaw (Mr. Ashton) said that the unions must be entitled to comment on what goes on in the courts. Of course they must, just as much as anyone else. However, I hope that the hon. Member will accept the corollary of that, which is that they, just as much as anybody else, must base their comments on facts. If it is the fact that not only the judge had nothing to do with the seizure of those funds in pursuance of sequestration but neither did the commissioners of sequestration have any reason to believe they were political funds, then to say as did the hon. Gentleman the Member for Blyth (Mr. Milne), that this was a blatant attack on the Labour Party is flying in the fact of facts.

Certainly we should criticise a decision if we disagree with it, but let us criticise it according to the facts.