HC Deb 03 June 1986 vol 98 c745
Mr. Ted Garrett (Wallsend)

I beg to ask leave to move the Adjournment of the House under Standing Order No. 10 for the purpose of discussing a specific and important matter that should have urgent consideration, namely, 'the announcement of redundancies today at Swan Hunter shipbuilders.' I do not wish to detain the House for too long, but, in accordance with Standing Order No. 10, I wish to seek your permission, Mr. Speaker, to draw the attention of the House to the announcement this afternoon that Swan Hunter is to declare immediately 825 employees redundant. Some time should be allocated by the House to debate this matter.

The apathy of the House, the Government and indeed the nation is something which disturbs me very much, bearing in mind that we are still a maritime nation. Unless we take seriously the decline in shipbuilding, particularly in Tyneside and Wallsend, we are on a course which will mean the extinction of our maritime fleet, our defence capabilities and, of course, ultimately shipbuilding. On this premise alone, Mr. Speaker, I hope that you will approve my request for a debate on this matter.

Mr. Speaker

The hon. Member asks leave to move the Adjournment of the House for the purpose of discussing a specific and important matter that he thinks should have urgent consideration, namely, the announcement of 1,000 redundancies today at Swan Hunter shipbuilders. As the hon. Gentleman knows, the only consideration I have to bear in mind is whether to give this matter precedence over the Orders set down for today or tomorrow. I fully understand the importance of this matter to him and his constituents. I regret that I do not consider the matter which he has raised as being appropriate for discussion under Standing Order No. 10 and, therefore, I cannot submit his application to the House.

Mr. Peter Shore (Bethnal Green and Stepney)

We have listened to your ruling, Mr. Speaker, and I have no desire to challenge it, but this is clearly a major new development. We have just heard a statement about the redundancy of 350 people—tragically unnecessary—and the closure of the Geevor mine. Surely, with the Leader of the House listening to what has been said, we can expect a full statement tomorrow on the matter which has been raised by my hon. Friend.

Mr. Speaker

That is not a matter for me.