Mr James Lamond: asked the Prime Minister if he is now able to reply to the representations made to him by the North-West Industrial Development Association at their meeting on Friday, 29th October, 1971.
Mr James Lamond: Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that the answer on 9th November to which he has referred was an arrogant and unjustifiably brief answer to two very carefully prepared memoranda by the North-West Industrial Development Association which clearly showed that the association is struggling to overcome, not only the sort of grave unemployment which affects every part of the country, but the...
Mr James Lamond: Has the hon. Gentleman observed that the American Government, who are apparently more concerned with their textile industry than this Government with ours, have recently made changes and introduced a quota system which will divert ever-increasing amounts of textiles from abroad to this country and will worsen the position of an already devastated industry in Lancashire?
Mr James Lamond: asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he is satisfied that the precautions being taken by the authorities at Oldham and District General Hospital are adequate to over-come the dangers of polluted water; and whether other hospitals in the West Pennine Water Board area are taking similar precautions.
Mr James Lamond: Does the hon. Gentleman agree that when the hospital authorities decided to boil all drinking water and the Chairman of the West Pennine Water Board said that the public must become accustomed to drinking dirty water, anxiety was bound to be caused among patients, their relatives and the general public throughout the area of the water board?
Mr James Lamond: I should like to supplement the points made by my hon. Friend the Member for Bassetlaw (Mr. Ashton), who is a colleague of mine in the Draughtsmen and Allied Technicians' Association. If a union is told that to proceed with a ballot would mean a dispute between two unions in a firm, does the Minister believe that an organisation such as U.K.A.P.E. would have any interest in getting together...
Mr James Lamond: I dissociate myself entirely from the congratulations extended by the hon. Member for Isle of Thanet (Mr. Rees-Davis) to the authors of the Bill, and do not accept the strictures he expressed. What has interested me tonight has been the retreat of the Solicitor-General and the Minister as they tried to meet the opposition's arguments about the proportion of votes which should be cast in...
Mr James Lamond: I appreciate the hon. Gentleman's point but this is an important matter which we wish to hammer out and I will speak as briefly as I can. An hon. Member can be elected to the House with a majority of a little over one-third of the votes cast in the election. In the famous election of 1945 Mr. E. L. Gandar Dower was elected as Conservative Member for Caithness and Sutherland in a...
Mr James Lamond: If the hon. Gentleman does not believe that selectivity should be operated in this way, why do the Government themselves from time to time use these criteria—for example, in giving extra assistance for the improvement of housing, irrespective of whether the housing needs are greatest, in the development areas or other areas?
Mr James Lamond: I did not serve on the Committee, but I wanted to inform my constituents who are puzzled at the high priority given to this Bill when they are so upset by the other consequences of the Tory Party—rising unemployment and prices increasing daily. I am as astonished as my constituents. One likes to be charitable towards hon. Members opposite and to search among their speeches for a motive...
Mr James Lamond: asked the Prime Minister if he will pay an official visit to Oldham.
Mr James Lamond: Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that there are in South-East Lancashire many towns, including Oldham, which have contributed considerably to the well-being of this country but which are now slowly bleeding to death due to increasing unemployment, mounting redundancies, low wages and, most important of all, the continual loss of young people? Do not these facts demonstrate clearly that...
Mr James Lamond: Does the Prime Minister accept the suggestion that when one takes into consideration the saving to the community in social security payments and unemployment benefit, the cost of employing 7,500 people in Remploy factories is nothing more than the effort required? If he does agree with that, will he investigate the possibility of considerably extending the activities of Remploy, so that it...
Mr James Lamond: Listening to the Debate for the number of days which I have, it has become rather frightening to realise that this legislation has been prepared by well meaning people who unfortunately base their experience, I imagine, entirely upon matters such as letters to the Press about trade unionists and their activities and on an out-dated notion of what trade unions' difficulties are at present....
Mr James Lamond: It is with more than the usual nervousness of someone making his maiden speech that I make mine as a Member for an English constituency intervening in this debate about Scottish education, but I shall explain presently my special interest in the subject. First, however, I should like to pay tribute to my predecessor, whose seat I took when he retired at the recent General Election—Mr....
