§ Mr. Michael Bates (Langbaurgh)I beg to move,
That leave be given to bring in a Bill to provide for the sale of Teesside International Airport to the private sector, and to make other provision in respect of the sale of municipally owned airports.I am grateful to have this opportunity to introduce a Bill which would make provision for the sale of Teesside international airport and all other municipally owned airports. Currently, Teesside international airport is jointly owned by Cleveland county council, which has a 60 per cent. stake, and Durham county council, which has a 40 per cent. stake. The annual report of accounts shows that they have invested some £19 million of council tax payers' money in the airport recently.I shall present four reasons why I believe that the sale would be in the best interests of the current owners, council tax payers, the airport itself, local business and air travellers. The first reason is the rapid growth in air travel. Teesside international airport was opened in 1964 and its first flight took place on 18 April, carrying some 10 passengers to Manchester. During the first year, passenger movements numbered 14,258. This year, the airport will achieve in the region of 500,000 passenger movements and is projecting, on its figures, an increase to some 1 million movements towards the end of the century. Clearly that growth in air passenger transport could not have been envisaged.
I turn to my second reason, which is one of the reasons why that growth has taken place: the new opportunities in air travel which have been brought about by the Government. At this stage, I pay a tribute to the role played by my right hon. Friend the Member for Norfolk, South (Mr. MacGregor), who, as Secretary of State for Transport, played a tremendous role in being the architect of the third air transport liberalisation package which gave European Union carriers free access to any international airport within the Community and allowed airlines to set their own fares. That competition will ensure that fares continue to fall and that air travel, with all its benefits, is made more accessible to more people.
My third reason is that, following the welcome decision of the local government commissioners, which was endorsed by the High Court recently, Cleveland county council is due to be abolished, and there will be substantial changes to Durham county council. At present, the board of Teesside international airport consists of councillors from the two authorities. These decisions will ensure that in future, if the airport is not sold, the board of an international airport in a highly competitive and technical field will be made up of representatives—councillors—from six authorities. The probability or possibility of that being an asset to the excellent managing director and the highly motivated and highly professional staff at Teesside international airport is unbelievable.
That brings me to my fourth and final reason—the opportunities that exist for the development of Teesside international airport. The airport stands on a huge 720-acre site. With investment of about £3 million, a new road could provide access to the southern side of the airport, with 250 acres of land ripe for development. That would bring much-needed jobs and investment to the area.
Improvements to the rail link, with the east coast main line only a few miles away at Darlington, is another 320 significant investment which is long overdue. The hotel and conference centre could also be improved. At present, the hotel is the former officers' mess. In the latter part of the 21st century, an international airport should have a level of investment and a hotel and conference centre befitting the thriving hubbub of commercial activity which is Teesside.
Also, if our regional airports are to be able to compete in this new and exciting highly competitive market, they will require massive investment in runways, hangars, hotels, terminals, baggage handling and security. The big question arises: who will pay for all that while the airports remain under local authority control? I venture to suggest that, if my constituents from Loftus, some 40 miles away, were asked whether they should provide funding for repairs to a runway, they would point, rightly, to the parlous state of the roofs on their council homes, or to the school with its temporary prefabs which have now been there for 30 years. Local authority investment should be channelled into such work and not into an international airport, which could attract private capital and do a far better job in the process.
The councillors and aldermen who took the courageous decision in 1964 to convert RAF Middleton St. George into Teesside international airport could not, in their wildest dreams, have anticipated the growth in air travel that has occurred. That growth demands investment. The world has also changed and regional airports have outgrown the authorities that own them. If those authorities continue to cling on to them, they will stifle those airports' development, but if they set them free they can take pride in the role that they have played.
§ Mr. Stuart Bell (Middlesbrough)It is always a great pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Langbaurgh (Mr. Bates). It was interesting to listen to the spirited way in which he expressed his wish to take from our local community another asset that is one of our family heirlooms. As the Earl of Stockton said, privatising a nationalised industry is equivalent to selling the family silver.
The hon. Member for Langbaurgh pointed out how successful Teesside international airport has been since 1964 and then gave a trailer not only for its privatisation, but for the privatisation of all the municipal airports. One can see how the Government are scraping around trying to find other assets to privatise. I predict that, once they have discovered that those airports represent an asset to be sold for profit, they will look at municipal golf courses.
The doctrine of privatisation has not been the success that the Government like to claim it has been. United Kingdom plc used to own revenue-earning, income-earning, profit-earning assets, but they were taken away from it. [HON. MEMBERS: "You must be joking."] British Telecom made profits, did it not? British Gas and the electricity companies made profits, did they not?
All those profits went to the state—United Kingdom plc. The day that those companies were privatised, that revenue was lost to the state. As a consequence, the Government are now looking for additional revenue to supplement that lost revenue, so we have ended up with VAT on fuel. When one privatises an asset, one deprives 321 the state of its income and tax revenue and ends up taking that lost money from pensioners' pockets. That is a travesty.
The hon. Member referred to the people of Loftus, but if we asked those people whether they wanted to contribute to their local economy or wanted to pay VAT on fuel, I know what the answer would be.
Durham county council and Cleveland county council have successfully managed Teesside international airport. They have demonstrated how local municipal councils can create a success story. Those councils should not be replaced by yet another quango, not least because, as quango after quango has been established, 70 per cent. of our revenues are handled by them rather than elected bodies which are democratically accountable.
The hon. Member, who is a Parliamentary Private Secretary, is looking for promotion to the Front Bench. Although it may be easy to get to that Bench, he will learn that it is even quicker to go from it to the Back Benches, as his hon. Friend the Member for Stockton, South (Mr. Devlin) can tell him. The hon. Member for Langbaurgh is trailing yet another privatisation for the Government. The Treasury views the outcome of that privatisation as it did the privatisation of our ports—it sees little pots of gold that it can keep, and why not? With a £38 billion deficit to cover in its Budget per year, those pots of gold are very attractive.
Conservative Members live in a dream world. They have built an image for themselves of a successful economy and of a successful series of privatisations. What they have created, however, is a series of monopolies, which have ended up taking more money from the pockets of our people than was ever taken from them when those industries were nationalised.
We should oppose not only the proposal to take a local asset from Teesside, but the idea of privatising our municipal airports and the entire concept of privatisation. The family heirlooms have been sold, North sea oil has been used and we have a deficit of £38,000 million. That is a failure, not a success. I ask the House to oppose the Bill.
§ Question put, pursuant to Standing Order No.19 (Motions for leave to bring in Bills and nomination of Select Committees at commencement of public business):—
§ The House divided: Ayes 63,Noes 132.
323| Division No. 300] | [3.44 |
| AYES | |
| Ainsworth, Peter (East Surrey) | Fry, Sir Peter |
| Alison, Rt Hon Michael (Selby) | Gale, Roger |
| Ashby, David | Gill, Christopher |
| Banks, Matthew (Southport) | Gorst, Sir John |
| Banks, Robert (Harrogate) | Grant, Sir A. (Cambs SW) |
| Beresford, Sir Paul | Greenway, Harry (Ealing N) |
| Booth, Hartley | Greenway, John (Ryedale) |
| Butcher, John | Griffiths, Peter (Portsmouth, N) |
| Butterfill, John | Harris, David |
| Clifton-Brown, Geoffrey | Haselhurst, Alan |
| Coombs, Anthony (Wyre For'st) | Hawksley, Warren |
| Deva, Nirj Joseph | Howell, Sir Ralph (N Norfolk) |
| Devlin, Tim | Jenkin, Bernard |
| Dicks, Terry | Jopling, Rt Hon Michael |
| Dover, Den | Knight, Dame Jill (Bir'm E'st'n) |
| Duncan, Alan | Knox, Sir David |
| Duncan-Smith, Iain | Lawrence, Sir Ivan |
| Dunn, Bob | Lidington, David |
| Durant, Sir Anthony | Mates, Michael |
| Dykes, Hugh | Moate, Sir Roger |
| Fabricant, Michael | Neubert, Sir Michael |
| Fox, Sir Marcus (Shipley) | Onslow, Rt Hon Sir Cranley |
| Pattie, Rt Hon Sir Geoffrey | Temple-Morris, Peter |
| Pawsey, James | Thurnham, Peter |
| Porter, David (Waveney) | Twinn, Dr Ian |
| Shaw, David (Dover) | Walker, Bill (N Tayside) |
| Shaw, Sir Giles (Pudsey) | Waterson, Nigel |
| Shersby, Michael | Whittingdale, John |
| Spicer, Michael (S Worcs) | Wilkinson, John |
| Spink, Dr Robert | |
| Spring, Richard | Tellers for the AYES: |
| Stanley, Rt Hon Sir John | Mr. Michael Bates and Mr. Charles Hendry. |
| Stern, Michael | |
| Sweeney, Walter |
| NOES | |
| Adams, Mrs Irene | Jackson, Glenda (H'stead) |
| Alton, David | Jackson, Helen (Shef'ld, H) |
| Austin-Walker, John | Jamieson, David |
| Barnes, Harry | Jones, Barry (Alyn and D'side) |
| Bayley, Hugh | Jowell, Tessa |
| Beggs, Roy | Kaufman, Rt Hon Gerald |
| Beith, Rt Hon A. J. | Keen, Alan |
| Bell, Stuart | Kennedy, Charles (Ross, C & S) |
| Bennett, Andrew F. | Khabra, Piara S. |
| Bermingham, Gerald | Kilfedder, Sir James |
| Berry, Roger | Kilfoyle, Peter |
| Blunkett, David | Livingstone, Ken |
| Boyes, Roland | Loyden, Eddie |
| Bray, Dr Jeremy | Lynne, Ms Liz |
| Brown, N. (N'c'tle upon Tyne E) | McAllion, John |
| Bruce, Malcolm (Gordon) | McAvoy, Thomas |
| Burden, Richard | McFall, John |
| Byers, Stephen | McKelvey, William |
| Callaghan, Jim | McMaster, Gordon |
| Campbell, Mrs Anne (C'bridge) | MacShane, Denis |
| Campbell, Ronnie (Blyth V) | Mahon, Alice |
| Campbell-Savours, D. N. | Martin, Michael J. (Springburn) |
| Chisholm, Malcolm | Maxton, John |
| Clapham, Michael | Michie, Bill (Sheffield Heeley) |
| Clark, Dr David (South Shields) | Milburn, Alan |
| Clarke, Tom (Monklands W) | Molyneaux, Rt Hon James |
| Clwyd, Mrs Ann | Morgan, Rhodri |
| Cook, Robin (Livingston) | Morris, Rt Hon A. (Wy'nshawe) |
| Corston, Ms Jean | Mowlam, Marjorie |
| Cousins, Jim | Mullin, Chris |
| Cox, Tom | O'Neill, Martin |
| Cunningham, Jim (Covy SE) | Orme, Rt Hon Stanley |
| Dafis, Cynog | Pendry, Tom |
| Dalyell, Tam | Pickthall, Colin |
| Darling, Alistair | Pope, Greg |
| Davidson, Ian | Powell, Ray (Ogmore) |
| Davies, Bryan (Oldham C'tral) | Primarolo, Dawn |
| Davies, Ron (Caerphilly) | Purchase, Ken |
| Denham, John | Radice, Giles |
| Dewar, Donald | Raynsford, Nick |
| Dixon, Don | Robertson, George (Hamilton) |
| Dobson, Frank | Robinson, Geoffrey (Co'try NW) |
| Eastham, Ken | Robinson, Peter (Belfast E) |
| Faulds, Andrew | Roche, Mrs. Barbara |
| Fisher, Mark | Salmond, Alex |
| Foster, Rt Hon Derek | Sedgemore, Brian |
| Fyfe, Maria | Sheerman, Barry |
| Gerrard, Neil | Sheldon, Rt Hon Robert |
| Godman, Dr Norman A. | Smith, C. (Isl'ton S & F'sbury) |
| Golding, Mrs Llin | Smith, Llew (Blaenau Gwent) |
| Griffiths, Nigel (Edinburgh S) | Spellar, John |
| Griffiths, Win (Bridgend) | Straw, Jack |
| Grocott, Bruce | Taylor, Mrs Ann (Dewsbury) |
| Hanson, David | Tipping, Paddy |
| Hardy, Peter | Trimble, David |
| Harman, Ms Harriet | Tyler, Paul |
| Harvey, Nick | Vaz, Keith |
| Henderson, Doug | Wallace, James |
| Hill, Keith (Streatham) | Walley, Joan |
| Hoey, Kate | Wareing, Robert N |
| Howarth, George (Knowsley N) | Wigley, Dafydd |
| Hoyle, Doug | Williams, Rt Hon Alan (Sw'n W) |
| Hutton, John | Williams, Alan W (Carmarthen) |
| Illsley, Eric | Wilson, Brian |
| Ingram, Adam | Winnick, David |
| Wise, Audrey | Tellers for the Noes: |
| Young, David (Bolton SE) | Mr. Andrew Mackinlay and Mr. Dennis Skinner. |
§ Question accordingly negatived.