HC Deb 16 December 1975 vol 902 cc1161-2
Q3. Mr. George Gardiner

asked the Prime Minister if he will dismiss the Secretary of State for Employment.

The Prime Minister

I refer the hon. Member to the reply which I gave to the hon. Member for Conway (Mr. Roberts) on 11th December.

Mr. Gardiner

Will the Prime Minister say whether the Secretary of State endorsed the new Chequers industrial strategy that has now been turned upside down? How does the Prime Minister expect the Secretary of State to win union acceptance of the redundancies necessary at, for example, the British Steel Corporation in view of the vast amount of good taxpayers' money being thrown after bad jobs at Chrysler?

The Prime Minister

The hon. Gentleman always imports a number of thoughts into his supplementary questions, but the position is that the whole Government—indeed, my right hon. Friend was at Chequers—endorsed the policies there. The position of the Chrysler Corporation will be explained to the House by my right hon. Friend at the end of Questions. If the hon. Gentleman is telling us that the Tory Party will vote for an immense number of lost jobs, we shall certainly want to know about it.

Mr. Kilroy-Silk

Will the Prime Minister call a meeting of the Secretaries of State for Employment and Industry with a view to devising policies for the industrial regeneration of Merseyside? Does he realise that, with the level of unemployment on Merseyside—especially in Kirkby—well above that of the national average, the people of that area would willingly accept half the money that is being given to Chrysler to create jobs on Merseyside and to stop the loss of jobs which has been going on for well over a decade?

The Prime Minister

I refer my hon. Friend and constituency neighbour to the announcements made by my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer which have had a considerable effect on Merseyside. I ask my hon. Friend to await the debate on the economic situation tomorrow, when my right hon. Friend will make a further statement. I do not recall that my hon. Friend voted against the Government's policy in relation to British Leyland. Some of his constituents and some of mine work for British Leyland on Merseyside.