Mr Stanley Crowther: If that is so, why does the hon. Gentleman support giving away public assets just when they are about to give the taxpayer a return on investment?
Mr Stanley Crowther: Does the hon. Member for Brigg and Cleethorpes (Mr. Brown) recall that when Mr. MacGregor, as part of his corporate plan, proposed to close down Normandy park he appeared on television with me and strenuously defended the decision to close the works on the ground that it would guarantee the future safety of the rest of the steel industry in Scunthorpe? How many jobs were lost in Scunthorpe...
Mr Stanley Crowther: The hon. Gentleman should speak for himself.
Mr Stanley Crowther: I am listening with great interest and approval to the words in praise of Mr. Sirs. But did the hon. Gentleman support Mr. Sirs in 1980? Did he support him while he was opposing closures in the iron and steel industry? Why, suddenly, has Mr. Sirs become a great man? The hon. Gentleman should have supported him before.
Mr Stanley Crowther: I was most surprised that Conservative Members brought the coal industry dispute into the debate. If the Government had pursued expansionist economic policies in the past five years, not only would the steel industry be far more productive, but we should be using every tonne of coal that we could get. Arguments about pit closures would be largely academic. Because of the Government's...
Mr Stanley Crowther: With respect, if the hon. Gentleman believes that, he will believe anything. The history of privatisation by the Government shows that, on the contrary, valuable public assets have been sold off at bargain basement prices.
Mr Stanley Crowther: It strikes me as being very much the same point. Moreover, with Phoenix II it is not even a question of selling but of giving away. It has been made clear both in the chairman's evidence to the Select Committee and somewhat grudgingly in parliamentary answers to me that the taxpayer will be giving the so-called purchaser extra money to take away potentially the most profitable section of the...
Mr Stanley Crowther: I hope that the Minister will tell us whether the proposals in the order take account of the Phoenix II proposals. Is the proposed new limit of £3,500 million based on an assumption that British Steel's special steels group will have been privatised during the period covered by the order? Clearly that factor must affect the borrowing requirement.
Mr Stanley Crowther: The Minister is not answering the question. If the Phoenix II proposals have not gone through during the period intended to be covered by the order, any investment in the special steels group must be covered by BSC's own borrowing powers. If, however, special steels have been privatised by then, future investment will be covered from outside BSC's borrowing powers. I am anxious to know which...
Mr Stanley Crowther: Has the Secretary of State read the Select Committee report to which his hon. Friend referred? Is he aware that the Select Committee strongly urged that there should be no further closures in strip mill capacity, strongly criticised the Government's privatisation policy and drew attention to the amazingly high current level of productivity in this publicly owned industry? Will the right hon....
Mr Stanley Crowther: With this it will be convenient to consider the following amendments: No. 81, in page 6, line 10, leave out from 'commission' to end of line 13. No. 80, in page 6, line 14, leave out 'and of a relevant authority' No. 84, in page 6, line 16, at end insert— '(2B) No direction under subsection (2) above may be given by the Secretary of State until he has consulted the commission or a...
Mr Stanley Crowther: I listened with interest to what the hon. Gentleman said about south Yorkshire's policy. Does he accept that the beneficiaries of that policy—the public of south Yorkshire — have voted overwhelmingly in favour of it, knowing all the implications to which he has referred, in every county election since 1973?
Mr Stanley Crowther: They are all ratepayers.
Mr Stanley Crowther: Before the Secretary of State leaves that, he will recall that the Secretary of State for Transport who imposed that £4 million fine on the South Yorkshire county council is now no longer a member of the Labour party, but is a member of the Social Democratic party.
Mr Stanley Crowther: What effect does the Secretary of State expect the White Paper on public expenditure to have on the unemployment figures? Is it not obvious that the Government's plans, which provide for virtually no increase in capital spending, but at the same time greatly reduce the spending of local authorities over the next three years, will necessarily put more people on the dole? What representations...
Mr Stanley Crowther: The theme of the speech of the hon. Member for Hornsey and Wood Green (Sir H. Rossi) appears to be that if democratically elected authorities do not exercise the powers which the House has given them as he wants those powers should be taken away. That is the heart of the Bill. That is why it is so utterly foreign to the the traditions of the country and the House. This is a most...
Mr Stanley Crowther: Is the hon. Gentleman saying that he wants a statutory wages policy? Let him tell us.
Mr Stanley Crowther: That would be the logical outcome of the Government's philosophy. If Ministers are concerned about the rate burden on industry, let them tell the House and industry why they have deliberately increased that burden over the past four years by drastic reductions in the rate support grant. My hon. Friend the Member for Copeland made that point, and I hope that it will not be overlooked. I get...
Mr Stanley Crowther: Will the Minister accept that there will be a warm welcome for his assurance that the regional tourist boards in England will be strengthened? These boards, especially in Yorkshire, have done excellent work on limited budgets. If the Government are to take the regional promotion of tourism seriously, would it not be sensible to drop this silly idea of building a new London airport at Stansted...
Mr Stanley Crowther: Would it not be equally fair to say that the root cause was not so much excess capacity as lack of demand? If there were throughout the Community, especially in this country, a substantial increase in demand from the motor car, shipbuilding, railway and construction industries, would not the gap between capacity and demand be greatly reduced.
