House of Commons Hansard Debates for 20 May 1998 (pt 2)

Mr. Amess: I have no detailed knowledge of the politics in Salford. Whatever the 11 per cent. who voted were, surely it is something which all Members should be depressed about. It is clear that 89 per cent. of the electorate did not think that it was worth voting. That is all about the way in which this place is being run.

Mr. Bob Blizzard (Waveney): Does the hon. Gentleman agree that the turnout at local elections has some relationship to the amount of literature that may be put through constituents' doors to remind them that the elections are taking place and to encourage them to vote? Is the hon. Gentleman aware that, in most of the wards that were up for election in my constituency, the Conservative party did not put a leaflet through anyone's door? I wonder whether that contributed to the low turnout.

Mr. Amess: Obviously, I regret that. I have no knowledge of the hon. Gentleman's constituency. However, the style of government since 1 May has meant that fewer and fewer people are interested in politics.

Mr. Hoyle: As the hon. Gentleman has so much knowledge, could he tell us how many people turned out to vote in Basildon?

Mr. Amess: The hon. Gentleman may be a little out of touch--I no longer represent the Basildon constituency. I am the Member of Parliament for Southend, West. My former seat is now represented by two hon. Members, one Conservative and one Labour.

The House will be delighted to know that I worked in six areas in the local elections. On election night, I worked in the constituency of Basildon, in the ward where the Labour Member of Parliament lives. I am delighted to say that we won the seat from the Labour party, so it was a Conservative gain. We also gained five seats in Basildon.

In the Easter Adjournment debate, I complained to the Leader of the House that the Prime Minister's attendance in this place was appalling. He might have listened to one or two people because he has made two or three statements since then, but his voting record is only 5 per cent. The voting record of his two predecessors, who were older than he is, was 30 per cent. The right hon. Lady will no doubt mention Ireland when she eventually sums up the debate, but the Prime Minister's two predecessors had just as important matters to deal with. For whatever reason, the leader of the Labour party simply does not think that this place is as important as talking to newspapers and appearing on television.

My main point is that, while some Ministers are excellent in dealing with constituency correspondence--their replies are courteous and they do everything possible

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to help--others take more than three months to reply, which is simply not on. Moreover, when letters are continually signed "pp", it is deeply insulting to hon. Members, and constituents will draw their own conclusions. I have tried to be non-partisan by praising those Ministers who deserve praise, but I hope that the Leader of the House will have a quiet word with one or two Government Departments--I am not prepared to name them now.

My second point concerns British Rail. I doubt whether hon. Members here today recall my "Public Journey" shown on television, which I undertook with one or two Essex Members of Parliament and a former British Rail chairman. It was a most unsatisfactory public journey--we used to call the Fenchurch Street line the "misery line". The chairman did not remain in place for long after that. I hope that a number of hon. Members saw the Evening Standard article last night, in which many of my constituents and others in Essex were interviewed. They have been very pleased since our line was privatised. Before that, the general manager on the line was second in unpopularity to Saddam Hussein. They now think that he is doing a splendid job. The punctuality of trains has risen to 95 or 96 per cent., and the service has improved immeasurably.

Would the Leader of the House be prepared to comment on the privatisation of the London- Tilbury-Southend line as it affects the area that I represent? Is she prepared to say that privatisation has been a success?

Mr. Paul Tyler (North Cornwall): Does the hon. Gentleman recognise that that satisfaction is far from universal? In my area, which is served by Great Western, satisfaction levels have declined to such an extent that the company has written to us apologising for the fall in standards. I missed a meeting chaired by the Leader of the House last night because my train was an hour and a half late. If the hon. Gentleman has a good experience to report to the House, it is unique.

Mr. Amess: I note the hon. Gentleman's comments. I am quite satisfied to represent one constituency at the moment, although, for 14 years, I represented another. I am not prepared to get involved in the local matters of other hon. Members. I simply make the point that, throughout my time in this place, I have campaigned for the privatisation of British Rail and, in Essex--an important part of the country--people are delighted with the privatisation of British Rail. I just wondered whether the Leader of the House has plans to renationalise British Rail.

My third point concerns Southend borough council and Essex county council. I must be very careful with my language, because I am only too well aware of what has been going on in the House since 1 April. The Prime Minister is being fed completely inaccurate briefing. It is absolutely disgusting that the Labour party in the House thinks that it can blame everything that is unsatisfactory in Essex on the Conservative administration since 1 April, while the Labour Government, who have now been in

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office for more than a year, are not prepared to accept responsibility for anything that goes wrong. We hear endlessly about the Conservative Government--

Mr. Hoyle: The hon. Gentleman says that the trains now run well in Essex, and the Labour party should take the blame. Should not the Labour party therefore take the credit for the punctuality of the trains?

Mr. Amess: I should be delighted if the Leader of the House would come to the Dispatch Box and say that privatisation has been a great success and that Her Majesty's Government will take the credit for that. Unfortunately, the record in Hansard will prove that the Labour party fought the privatisation of British Rail from the very outset.

As I was saying on the subject of Southend borough council, a little while ago we had a by-election in Southend. We won the Chalkwell seat from the Liberal Democrats, so Southend borough council now has 19 Conservative, 13 Liberal Democrat and seven Labour members. Thus, with their majority of one, the Liberal Democrat and Labour parties together vote everything down. Interestingly, since Southend became a unitary council, the Liberal Democrat and Labour parties have voted for an increase in social service charges, which will come into effect on 1 June. The cost of meals on wheels will rise by a third, and home care charges, about which we heard endlessly before the Labour party assumed government, will rise by 70 per cent. Home care charges are being increased from £6.20 to £10.50 a week, and meals on wheels charges are being increased to £1.80 for a main meal. The Conservatives voted against all those rises.

None the less, the Labour Member of the European Parliament has been running round Essex petitioning people to sign up because of changes that the Conservatives in Essex county council have imposed since 1 April. Not a word has been said by the Liberal Democrats locally or nationally about the disgusting increases in social service charges in Southend, but plenty has been said about Essex county council, and plenty has been said from the Dispatch Box in the House. It is disgraceful.

On education, the main platform in Essex and Southend, the Labour party has broken its promises. Class sizes in my constituency are going up all the time. Some 1.3 million primary school pupils are in classes of 31 or more, which is the highest figure for 20 years. That has happened not as a result of 18 years of Conservative government, but because of Labour and, to an extent, Liberal Democrat party policies.

Westborough school, in my constituency, is the largest primary school in Essex, with more than 800 children, and the headmistress does not even have a room from which to work. All the schools in my area are full. Many parents come to my surgery to complain. Parental choice cannot apply to them because the nearest secondary schools with vacancies are about four miles away.

In terms of local government, will the Leader of the House say what the Labour party will do to rectify the problem in my constituency, given that the local authority, which has become a unitary authority, is controlled by the Labour and Liberal Democrat parties?

Incredibly, the Government allowed for increases of only 0.5 per cent. across all services, although inflation went up to a six-year high yesterday. The Prime Minister

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has the cheek to come to the Dispatch Box and pretend that the Conservatives are to blame for changes since 1 April. Every week, different figures are used by Labour Members in the House, so I am delighted to put the record straight. We should compare the Conservatives' spending proposals since 1 April with those of the Labour and Liberal Democrat parties, which cut education spending in real terms by £12 million last year. The Conservatives in Essex are spending £12 million more on social services than the Government set out in the standard spending assessment, and they have to deal with the dreadful mess left by the previous administration under which a huge amount was raided from our reserves.

My final point relates to young people. On Monday, I had the privilege of participating in an all-party forum that was organised by Essex county council. Young people aged from seven to 17 put their points to parish councillors, councillors and Members of Parliament, which was worth while.

I am the vice-chairman of the all-party scout and guide group. Last week, the hon. Member for Colchester (Mr. Russell) and I visited Baden-Powell house. We met the international secretary of the scouting movement, who shared with us a comprehensive programme to cater for the needs of young people in today's society.

The programme has a global educational background and I should like to share with hon. Members a few of the movement's thoughts. It believes that young people, first, should develop themselves to test their abilities and to discover the world around them, in whatever forum; secondly, require access to knowledge and competence to understand the real world; thirdly, need an active and responsible role in social life; and, fourthly, will acquire status and a stake in society through such a role.

Although some people may smirk at that, I believe that the scouting and guide organisations do a magnificent job. A huge army of volunteers are offered an opportunity to learn beyond the traditional boundaries of formal education. The organisations base their strategy on four pillars: learning to know, learning to do, learning to live together, and learning to be. They offer an environment in which non-formal education can flourish and, in today's society, where there are more dangers than ever before, non-formal education is an essential part of the education process. The scouting organisation believes that schools teach more and more, but, in some respects, educate less and less; that families give more freedom, but not more autonomy; and that we teach the cost of everything, but the value of nothing.