HC Deb 23 November 1994 vol 250 c596
16. Mr. Grocott

To ask the President of the Board of Trade what is the most recent figure for the balance of trade in manufactured goods.

Mr. Needham

In the latest three months the trade deficit in manufactured goods was £1.5 billion, down from £2.2. billion in the previous three months.

Mr. Grocott

That was a poor answer to a question I did not ask. Can the Minister confirm that our £8 billion deficit in 1993 was the clearest possible illustration of how our industrial base, especially in the west midlands, has been vandalised by the Government? Does the Minister share my nostalgia for those heady days in the 1970s under Labour when the surplus in manufactured goods rose to £5.8 billion? Will he confirm that not in his wildest dreams would he expect either the jobs or the apprenticeships that existed under Labour ever to come back under this Government?

Mr. Needham

Let us just recall those heady days in the 1970s, shall we—the strikes, the appalling productivity and the trade union restrictive practices? The hon. Gentleman obviously does not recall that in 1979 it took 13 man hours to make a tonne of steel, whereas British steel now does it in four hours. Obviously he does not know, or did not bother to find out, that since 1981 the export volume of British manufactured goods has increased faster than those of France, Germany, Italy or Japan. Instead of knocking that the hon. Gentleman should look at the facts.