It is also an
honour to conclude the debate today, and to hear so many maiden
speeches. We have had such speeches from my hon Friends the Members
for Enfield, North (Ms Ryan), for Redditch (Jacqui Smith), for Eastwood
(Mr. Murphy) and for Brentford and Isleworth (Mrs. Keen), and from
the hon. Members for Witney (Mr. Woodward), for Weston-super-Mare
(Mr. Cotter) and for North Norfolk (Mr. Prior). We have had a tour
of the country, and we have heard how the Budget will affect people
across Britain. It is truly a people's Budget.
Almost 100 years ago, Lloyd George launched his people's Budget
for this century. Now we have a new people's Budget to begin the
next century. I congratulate my right hon. Friend the Chancellor
on a wise and radical Budget. It faces up to the long-term problems
of the British economy. It also takes immediate steps to tackle
some of the deep-rooted inequalities faced by my constituents.
I represent a corner of West
Yorkshire which is proud of its industrial heritage and its hard-working
people; the liquorice fields and factories of Pontefract; the potteries
of Castleford; the pits--the heart and belly of the constituency;
the power station at Ferrybridge; the glassworks and the chemical
works of Knottingley and Castleford; and, near the corner of Normanton
that I represent, a Japanese electronics factory.
Hard times
These past two decades have been hard times in my constituency.
Many of the pits are now closed, jobs in traditional industries
have gone and, most important, we lack new investment and help to
reskill the work force to generate new jobs to replace the old ones
that have gone.
I must report to the House that 2,600 people in my constituency
are officially unemployed: a third of them have been unemployed
for more than a year. The number of people not working, either because
they have been forced into early retirement or on to sickness benefit,
is much higher. Too many of my constituents have not had their fair
share of opportunities to learn and to obtain the qualifications
that they need to prosper in a modern economy. That matters for
the future, as one generation follows in the footsteps of another.
Evidence shows that the chance of the sons and daughters of miners
in my constituency becoming high earners when they grow up is a
mere tenth of that of the sons and daughters of well-educated and
wealthy professionals. That figure is shocking.
The House must not misunderstand
me. It is true that my constituency is plagued by unemployment,
but I represent hard-working people who are proud of their strong
communities and who have fought hard across generations to defend
them. They are proud of their socialist traditions, and have fought
for a better future for their children and their grandchildren.
In the middle ages, that early egalitarian, the real Robin Hood,
lived, so we maintain, in the vale of Wentbridge to the south of
Pontefract. It was a great base from which to hassle the travelling
fat cats on the Great North road.
Fighter for social justice
Centuries later, Pontefract became home to another true fighter
for social justice, Barbara Castle. In her autobiography, she describes
her politicisation during the miners lock-out in 1921. Through the
years, my constituency has been home to other Members who have fought
hard for the working people whom they represent in nearby constituencies,
including the former Member for Hemsworth, Derek Enright, and my
hon. Friend the Member for Normanton (Mr. O'Brien), who has helped
me so much in these early months.
The people of Pontefract and
Castleford owe most to the man who represented them for the past
19 years, and who battled hard for their welfare, Sir Geoffrey Lofthouse,
now Lord Lofthouse of Pontefract. I know that hon. Members will
join me in paying tribute to someone who, as a former Deputy Speaker,
worked hard for the House, was fair and honourable, and, above all,
was a kind man. He governed the House, which can sometimes be rowdy
and alarming, with a firm but fair hand.
For some, the traditional tribute
to a predecessor is something to be swallowed swiftly, got over
as fast as possible. For me, it is an honour and a privilege to
be able to pay that tribute on behalf of the House and the people
of Pontefract and Castleford to Sir Geoff, as he is known locally.
Sir Geoff was a well-loved constituency
Member of Parliament. Like my grandfather, he began his working
life in the pits as a teenager. The mischievous among his Pontefract
friends describe him as a corner-stint man, but they would never
use the same phrase to describe his commitment to his constituents.
His proudest achievement was his work for the welfare of the miners
with whom he served for so long, getting emphysema recognised as
an industrial disease.
I pay a personal tribute to
him, too, for Sir Geoff has been extremely supportive during these
curious first months here. I hope that we can continue to work together
for the people of Pontefract and Castleford, a partnership which
I hope echoes the strength of this new Government, young and old,
energy and experience, women and men, across the country and across
the generations working together for common goals. The Budget gives
us the chance to achieve those goals.
New deal for the unemployed
More important to my constituents than anything else will be the
new deal for the unemployed. In Pontefract and Castleford we are
raring to go. Already, the Groundwork Trust in Castleford has approached
me with a proposal for an environmental task force. We hope to encourage
young unemployed people in some of the highest areas of unemployment
in our constituency--in Knottingley and on the Airedale estate in
Castleford--to join regeneration projects that are already planned.
That way, they can take their first steps into the world of work
straight from their own doorstep, be part of rebuilding their own
troubled estates, learning transferable skills and building their
own personal pride in their environment and in their work.
We think that this is such a
good idea that we are not even waiting for the windfall tax money
to come through. A local partnership is already drawing up a proposal
for European money, and I hope that we will provide a successful
model for the rest of the country to follow. At the same time, Wakefield
council is itching to expand on its successful job subsidy programme,
Workline, which it has been operating for the past 11 years. Employers
there have a year-long subsidy of up to £40 a week to take
on unemployed workers.
I asked one employer involved
whether he would have taken someone on anyway. After all, his business
was expanding. He told me two interesting things. The first was
that the subsidy encouraged him to take on a new employee a year
earlier than he would otherwise have done. The second was that,
without the subsidy, he would not have considered taking on someone
who was unemployed. There, in that one anecdote, was the proof that
such a job subsidy can speed up job creation and help people in
most danger of being locked outside the work force, trapped on the
dole, into jobs.
Trapped on the dole
That is important because it means that the new deal gives us a
chance to tackle the long-term roots of inequality--people who are
trapped on the dole in my constituency. Moreover, by helping those
who find it hardest to get work, the new deal also boosts the capacity
of the economy. That means that, as the economy grows, instead of
running into the old inflationary buffers, as so often happens,
we can have growth that creates jobs and more jobs, because we have
boosted the capacity. That is the Budget's greatest strength. At
the same time as controlling consumer demand and stopping it expanding
too fast, the Budget is boosting the supply side to try to raise
Britain's long-term sustainable rate of growth. I hope that the
new deal will receive support from both sides of the House, because
it is about our future. In Pontefract and Castleford, I found enthusiasm
for these proposals on both sides of the political spectrum.
As recently as Monday morning,
a small business man came into my surgery. He admitted to being
one of the few people in the area who had voted Conservative for
30 years--until the recent election. However, he said that he was
delighted with what he had seen about Labour's plans for young people.
He said that he wanted to take on three young unemployed people,
asked when they could start, and where should he sign. His enthusiasm
was infectious, and I hope that such enthusiasm will encourage more
small businesses, both in my constituency and throughout the country,
to take up the challenge to provide a new deal for the unemployed.
It is something which we all need to work on together.
I am sure that that man
will be even more delighted now that he has heard my right hon.
Friend's Budget. It truly is a people's Budget--a Budget for social
justice and for Britain's future. Tough choices have to be made,
but they will generate results in the long run.
Keynes said: "In the long run we are all dead"-- but I
say, "So what?" Our children and our grandchildren will
still be alive. Therefore, for the people of Pontefract and Castleford
and for their children and grandchildren, I welcome the Budget.
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