HC Deb 17 July 1979 vol 970 cc1289-90
15. Mr. Knox

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many people were out of work at the most recent count.

Mr. Prior

At 14 June, the number of people registered as unemployed in Great Britain was 1,281,102.

Mr. Knox

Will my right hon. Friend confirm that the figure would have been exactly the same if the Labour Party had won the general election? Will he also confirm that an extra person joined the dole queue every three and a half minutes when the Labour Government were in office?

Mr. Prior

I confirm the second part of what my hon. Friend says. On the first part of his question, I sometimes wonder whether the Budget and the arrival of a Conservative Government have not helped the figures rather than hindered them.

Mr. Rooker

Will the right hon. Gentleman say by how much that figure will increase following the written answer to be given later today to the hon. Member for Havant and Waterloo (Mr. Lloyd) about the Government's proposals on Meriden?

Mr. Prior

All I know is that, despite the frantic efforts by the Labour Party in government to save a number of jobs for a short period of time, the number of unemployed went inexorably upwards. That is a situation that we do not wish to see.

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