Mr Lawrence Cunliffe: Will the right hon. Lady request the national lottery board to keep a better sense of proportion, fairness and, to some degree, equity? How can it reconcile giving £55 million to the royal opera house in London for wealthy pleasure-seekers while refusing substantial grants to the Marie Curie Cancer Care unit, which operates hospices for dying people? The board has given 277 times more in...
Mr Lawrence Cunliffe: Does the Minister feel a sense of shame about the fact that in the Budget the Government cut 26p off a bottle of gin, and followed that with a £170 million reduction in overseas aid? That is a callous act, given the hundreds of thousands of starving families in Africa and Asia. Those people have to survive on a starvation diet and need vital aid. In those circumstances, to knock 26p off a...
Mr Lawrence Cunliffe: Is the Minister aware that supporters of animal welfare charities are anxious because they are not getting their rightful share, considering the size of some of those organisations? They believe that they are discriminated against to some degree because they are not fashionable organisations, such as those for sport, culture and the arts. Will the Minister remind the distributing bodies that...
Mr Lawrence Cunliffe: How can the Minister reconcile in any shape or form public expenditure cuts—which have forced many authorities, such as that in my area, to sack home helps and teachers and make all kinds of cuts to public services—with the proposed expenditure on a new royal yacht? Is that not indefensible, as most people consider the vessel to be a kind of floating palace which is used mainly by the...
Mr Lawrence Cunliffe: Does the Minister appreciate that the best way to relieve pressure on slots at Heathrow would be to grant a second runway to Manchester airport immediately? Hundreds of thousands of people from areas north of Manchester must travel to Heathrow to fly to Strasbourg, Bonn and other destinations in Europe—including the British parliamentary delegations to the European Union, and those to the...
Mr Lawrence Cunliffe: Is the Minister aware that some prizes have been claimed by under-age purchasers? Has she noticed the early-day motion signed by several hon. Members expressing concern about the ease with which under-age people can purchase tickets, especially scratchcards? Would it not be better to have further controls under the licensed betting office system with an age threshold of 18? That would...
Mr Lawrence Cunliffe: I begin by recording my appreciation and gratitude to the Speaker's Office for giving me the opportunity to debate a highly sensitive, important and disturbing subject—televised pornography. There is grave and growing concern on the part of the public, especially parents, that if allowed to go unchecked, television pornography could condition and corrupt our society into accepting sexual...
Mr Lawrence Cunliffe: New Labour.
Mr Lawrence Cunliffe: How then does the Secretary of State reconcile the raising of standards with the statement by the Chancellor of the Exchequer that all teacher pay awards will not be funded centrally? If that is the case, added to the fact that efficiency savings by all local education authorities in Britain are at rock bottom, inevitably, many authorities, especially those in Wigan and Leigh, will be forced...
Mr Lawrence Cunliffe: Is the Minister aware that, since the health authority closed down the accident and emergency department of Leigh infirmary—it was eventually replaced by a minor injuries unit that opened 24 hours a day—the authority has reneged on its assurances of a 24-hour service and now, in a disgraceful cost-cutting exercise, proposes to close the unit between 10 pm and 8 am? What does he propose to...
Mr Lawrence Cunliffe: Is the Minister aware that the Manchester-based Co-operative bank has urged every bank in this and other countries to ban the financing of land mines? Those mines kill 24,000 people every year. As it is the Government's policy to oppose any further manufacture of land mines, will the Minister exhort, encourage and commend other banks in the United Kingdom and worldwide to do the same?
Mr Lawrence Cunliffe: I shall speak as rapidly as possible because I wish to deal exclusively with the Greater Manchester fire service, its resources and its role. In 1986, the Audit Commission reported that the fire services generally were "notably well managed", great value for money and, in efficiency and effectiveness, were second to none in the United Kingdom and the world. That is a glowing tribute to our...
Mr Lawrence Cunliffe: I wish to relate some personal—and rather horrifying—experiences which occurred when I, as a young boy, had to deal with animals, including some of those mentioned in the debate today. I remind the House that fox hunting was originally an entertainment for the wealthy of the nation, and it is only in recent times that those involved have been forced to provide justification for the...
Mr Lawrence Cunliffe: No; this is only the fourth speech since the debate started at 9.30 am. I might give way later. I say clearly and distinctly to the marksmen that, when thinking about and judging or acting on these matters, if the bullet or arrow were first dipped in the blood of the marksmen it would never reach its target because it would never have left the gun or the bow—because they would then...
Mr Lawrence Cunliffe: I am grateful for the first part of the hon. Gentleman's remarks, but I fundamentally disagree with his final comments. Having spoken to animal rights activists and having looked back on some of the things that I did when I was young, I am passionately convinced that all acts of animal cruelty, no matter what the purpose, are despicable, detestable and indefensible in a so-called Christian...
Mr Lawrence Cunliffe: I am sure that the Minister will agree that a radical and significant measure such as this warrants full consultation with the licensed trade and club associations. The largest all-party group in Westminster is the clubs association, whose offices and membership are shared by all political parties. It has direct responsibility for looking to the interests—not protecting the interests—of...
Mr Lawrence Cunliffe: They were not.
Mr Lawrence Cunliffe: I am talking about what is encompassed in the Bill. Because I was away last week at the Council of Europe, I have not had time to study the Bill in detail, but I accept that it would be wrong to discriminate between the greyhound racing industry and the horse racing industry. We swould give the Minister 100 per cent. support if he were receptive to the suggestion that greyhound racing should...
Mr Lawrence Cunliffe: Perhaps the Minister will confirm that later.
Mr Lawrence Cunliffe: As a good Christian, I shall give way.
