Service Widows (Provision of Pensions)

Part of Service Widows (Provision of Pensions) – in the House of Commons am 12:00 am ar 28 Mawrth 1979.

Danfonwch hysbysiad imi am ddadleuon fel hyn

Photo of Mr Michael Roberts Mr Michael Roberts , Cardiff North West 12:00, 28 Mawrth 1979

It is true that I could argue about 400 years of history for that particular part of Wales, but I hope that the hon. Member for Carmarthen is not rejecting Monmouthshire. I hope that he is not saying that that border area, which we are proud to call part of the Principality, was not represented in Westminster. If he says that, he should look at his Welsh history books again. He is talking about a small part of Wales. He should know better than to try to teach me history.

Unemployment has gone up in the Principality from 38,000 to 88,000. I do not claim that the total responsibility for that lies with the Labour Government. I readily concede that other factors, such as the decline in the steel industry, have caused it. However, I think that the Labour Government could have been a little more honest in Cardiff in 1974 when their candidate who stood against me made his splendid appeal "Vote Labour and save East Moors." People who knew better than he should have hold him that there was no way of saving East Moors steelworks once it had been decided to nationalise it.