HC Deb 19 May 1999 vol 331 cc1061-2
Q11. Mr. David Amess (Southend, West)

What plans he has to visit Southend, West.

The Prime Minister

I have no plans to visit Southend—and I rather think that the hon. Gentleman did not either, until he saw the writing on the wall in Basildon.

Mr. Amess

There you are, Madam Speaker. Labour has never got over the fact that we kept Basildon for the Conservatives—and today half my old constituency is still represented by a Conservative. Anyway, it is just as well that the Prime Minister is not going to visit Southend, West, given the anger that is felt there about the way in which he has broken up the United Kingdom.

If the Prime Minister did visit my constituency, however, he would learn at first hand about the effect of reducing class sizes to 30 and under. That policy means that parental choice will be ended this autumn. Why do the Prime Minister, his party and his Liberal partners in crime despise working-class people so much that they want to prevent them from having the choice that he and his colleagues have as a result of their power and money?

The Prime Minister

The hon. Gentleman says that working people in Southend will not support the Government's policies. I believe that they support the statutory minimum wage introduced by us, the 20 per cent. rise in child benefit introduced by us and the £40 billion of investment in schools and hospitals introduced by us—and they certainly support the lowest interest rates for more than 30 years.

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