§ 9. Sir Thomas ArnoldTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment what is the latest unemployment figure;and if he will make a statement. (21624]
§ Mr. PortilloSeasonally adjusted claimant unemployment in the United Kingdom was 2,346,200 in March 1995—a fall of 632,300 since December 1992.
§ Sir Thomas ArnoldWhile I welcome those figures, does my right hon. Friend acknowledge that the supply side changes of recent years mean that there is still plenty of spare capacity in the economy without taking undue risks with inflation?
§ Mr. PortilloYes. I believe that, by investing in education, as we do in Britain, by encouraging employers to see the benefit of training and by investing large sums of taxpayers' money in training we can improve the quality of the work force, so that a larger number of our people can participate in work, without taking risks with inflation.
§ Ms HarmanInstead of boasting that the problem of unemployment in Britain has been solved, why does not the Secretary of State recognise that it still remains a major problem? Does he admit that, in the past five years, 11 million people have been out of work and, as a result, have had to claim benefits; that long-term unemployment remains a problem, still hovering around the 1 million mark; and that of all the G7 countries, we are the only one to have seen no employment growth since 1979?
Does he recognise that unemployment is a problem not just for the unemployed but for those in work who fear that their jobs too might be the next to go and know that, if they lose their jobs, the Government will kick them in the teeth with cuts in training and benefit? While the right hon. Gentleman will not tell the truth about the true size of unemployment in Britain, it is no wonder people do not trust the Tories.
§ Mr. PortilloI make no complacent claims about unemployment in Britain. I believe that it is too high. But 556 I also believe that it is lower than the European Community average because of the policies that we in Britain follow; that a higher proportion of our people are in work than in any major country in the EC because of the policies that we follow here; that a higher percentage of our women are in work than in any major European country because of the policies that we follow here; that we have seen a faster fall in unemployment than any major EC country because of the policies that we follow here; and that, in particular, the countries where the levels of unemployment are highest and where the levels of unemployment among young people are highest are those countries in the EC that have adopted and applied the minimum wage—the policy that the Labour party wishes to impose upon Britain which would have the same result of destroying jobs, in particular for our young people.
§ Mr. JenkinIs it not clear that, had the voters last week been considering our record on unemployment and our overall record on the economy, the result would have been very different, but, since their confidence in our management of the economy has been so rudely shaken as a result of the collapse of the exchange rate mechanism, had we not better start pointing out that we made a mistake over that policy and that we have learnt our lessons, whereas the Opposition, with their unthinking commitment to the single European currency, would repeat exactly the same mistakes all over again?
§ Mr. PortilloWe have no plans to go back into the exchange rate mechanism, but I believe that the Labour party does. But had the British people known that the right hon. Member for Kingston upon Hull, East (Mr. Prescott) had admitted that the minimum wage that his party advocates would lead to a shake-out in jobs, the result of last week's elections might have been very different indeed.