HC Deb 04 April 1995 vol 257 cc1512-3
4. Mr. Waterson

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what comparisons he has made between the United Kingdom's record on reducing unemployment and that of other major EU countries. [16006]

The Minister of State, Department of Employment (Miss Ann Widdecombe)

Since December 1992, unemployment on the International Labour Organisation definition has fallen by nearly two percentage points in the United Kingdom while in France, Germany and Italy it has risen by one percentage point or more. It has also risen in most other European Union countries as, for example, in Spain where it has risen by 2.7 per cent.

Mr. Waterson

I thank my hon. Friend for that reply. Does she agree that those excellent comparative results are due to the much more flexible labour market that the Government have created in this country without the harmful influence of a national minimum wage or the social chapter?

Miss Widdecombe

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. There is a very clear correlation between countries with heavily regulated labour markets and countries with high unemployment. In Britain, flexible labour market policies have meant that we have attracted inward investment, that employers have been able to make the most of the recovery and that people are able to choose and agree with their employers working patterns that suit them. It is a very good country in which to be working, and I hope that the Opposition never get the opportunity to destroy that very sound base.

Ms Short

Will the Minister please explain how it benefits the British people or the British economy to encourage competition with Europe by promoting low pay in Britain? Does she agree that there is no future for Britain as the sweat shop of Europe?

Miss Widdecombe

Indeed. I agree that there is no future for us as the sweatshop of Europe because we are not. The Opposition will not like to hear these facts but the take-home pay of a single man in the bottom 10 per cent. of earnings has risen 23 per cent. above inflation since 1979. What did the Opposition do for such people? Their pay fell under the previous Labour Government. Since 1979, real pay at all levels has risen for male full-timers and women, in comparison with the late 1970s when productivity and pay stagnated. Real take-home pay for a couple with an average earner has risen by 46 per cent.—[Interruption.] The Opposition do not want to hear the facts. They want to make statements that they cannot substantiate. When they hear the facts, they do not like it. One can tell how well the country is doing by the length of the Opposition's faces.

Mr. Heald

Can my hon. Friend confirm that Britain has the fastest-falling rate of unemployment in Europe and that that is because we have a vibrant economy with fast-rising exports and flexible labour markets, and we are the best place in Europe to do business, which is why we are getting so much inward investment at the moment?

Miss Widdecombe

My hon. Friend is right. It is significant that the rest of Europe is beginning to realise that fact, with an increased concentration on competitiveness and flexibility and a rather embarrassed retreat from over-regulation. That is a tribute to the example that we have set. It is a great pity, indeed, that the Opposition cannot revel in Britain doing well.