§ Q3. Mr. Dalyellasked the Prime Minister if he will pay an official visit to Morecambe.
§ The Prime MinisterI have at present no plans to do so, Sir.
§ Mr. DalyellIn the current resources position, of which Sir Kingsley Dunham's letter in The Times is only the most 1889 recent exposition, would not a barrage at Morecambe with nuclear-fuelled pump storage at least be a little more sensible than the proposal from the official Liberal spokesman that there should be a dam right across the English Channel and a little more sensible than the Prime Minister's own pet project, Maplin?
§ The Prime MinisterThe Morecambe barrage is a matter in which I was first interested some 11 years ago when I was Secretary of State for Regional Development, and I invited the universities to do the first study. The hon. Gentleman knows that this is a feasible project, but there is a general consensus that it is not an economic project from the point of view of power. From the point of view of freshwater storage, it is a feasible proposition and may be very valuable, but if it were to be pursued for other purposes it would not provide us with the power about which the hon. Gentleman is concerned.
§ Mrs. Kellett-BowmanIf my right hon. Friend should change his mind and go to Heysham, would he care to visit the power station there, which has an excellent English-made advanced gas-cooled reactor? If, however, he cannot go either to Morecambe or to Heysham, would he care instead to visit some factories in Lancaster in which there is first class co-operation between trade unions and management which has enabled very high levels of output to be preserved throughout the current crisis?
§ The Prime MinisterI agree with my hon. Friend about the remarkable achievements over this very difficult period. I should be very happy to do the sort of circular tour which she suggests.