§ Ql. Mr. David Atkinsonasked the Prime Minister if she will pay an official visit to Bournemouth.
§ The Prime Minister (Mrs. Margaret Thatcher)I have at present no plans to do so.
§ Mr. AtkinsonIs my right hon. Friend aware that Bournemouth was one of the few places in the country not to have been affected by the recent water dispute, quite simply because the employees of the Bournemouth and District water company are also shareholders in that company, and shareholders do not go on strike? Is not that a sensible formula to introduce into our strike-prone public service industries, where unions are so often prepared to place self before service, to the nation's cost and, ultimately, to their own?
§ The Prime MinisterMy hon. Friend's constituents are fortunate. I agree with him that to have a personal stake in an industry is to have a personal stake in its success. That formula could well be copied among many of the other private water companies and among nationalised industries. I share my hon. Friend's dislike of the abuse of monopoly powers in some of the public sector industries.