Footwear (Hansard, 6 August 1975)

§ Mr. Adam Butler (Bosworth)

With your permission, Mr. Speaker and that of the House, I wish to present a petition. This is perhaps the most opportune moment to present a petition arising out of the very serious situation in the footwear industry, following, as it does, a debate which I believe has been an historic one in the footwear industry.

I should like to give the brief background to the petition before I read it to the House. It is the case that in two towns in my constituency, namely, Barwell and Earl Shilton, which draw their livelihood mainly from the footwear industry, since this time last year jobs have declined by 6 per cent. and, indeed, with one main employer the number of jobs has 688 declined since the beginning of this year by as much as 20 per cent.

The petition has been prepared in the space of only two days under the auspices of the two main unions in the industry. It has been possible to accumulate in that time a total of 1,641 signatures, headed by the Mayor of the Borough of Hinckley and Bosworth. The petition, which with your permission Mr. Speaker I shall read out, is brief and as follows: To the Honourable the Commons of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland in Parliament assembled. The humble petition of the people employed in the Shoe Industry in Barwell and Earl Shilton and the people resident in Barwell and Earl Shilton, in the Borough of Hinckley and Bosworth, in the Parliamentary Constituency of Bosworth, showeth that their livelihoods are greatly suffering because of the depressed state of the Footwear Industry, that the loss of jobs and reduction in earnings is affecting not only the workers in the Industry but the whole economy of the area, and that much of this situation is due to the importation of cheap shoes from foreign lands. Wherefore your Petitioners pray that such measures may be taken to protect the livelihoods of persons employed in the Shoe Industry in Barwell and Earl Shilton and the citizens of Barwell and Earl Shilton and that in particular the import of boots and shoes shall be reduced to 60 million pairs per annum. And your Petitioners as in duty bound will ever pray. To lie upon the Table.