With my emphasis added, here is the motion, co-sponsored by Ed Miliband himself, that the House of Commons has just passed without a vote:
That this House acknowledges the economic legacy of the pit closure programme in coalfield communities across the United Kingdom; notes that the recent release of the relevant 1984 Cabinet papers showed that the Government at the time misled the public about the extent of its pit closure plans and sought to influence police tactics; recognises the regeneration of former coalfield areas over the last fifteen years, the good work of organisations such as the Coalfield Regeneration Trust, and the largest industrial injury settlement in legal history secured by the previous Government for former miners suffering from bronchitis and emphysema; further recognises the ongoing problems highlighted recently by the report produced by Sheffield Hallam University on The State of the Coalfields, which revealed that there are still significant problems for the majority of Britain’s coalfield communities, such as fewer jobs, lower business formation rates, higher unemployment rates, more people with serious health issues, higher numbers in receipt of welfare benefits and a struggling voluntary and community sector; and therefore calls for the continued regeneration and much needed support for coalfield communities as part of a wider programme to boost growth in Britain’s regions.
In other words, the Conservative Party no longer even attempts to deny that the words highlighted are factually correct.
Meanwhile, we face blackouts over the winter. I cannot imagine how that can have happened.
That, or how we are always going to war in, for or on behalf of oil-producing countries.
That this House acknowledges the economic legacy of the pit closure programme in coalfield communities across the United Kingdom; notes that the recent release of the relevant 1984 Cabinet papers showed that the Government at the time misled the public about the extent of its pit closure plans and sought to influence police tactics; recognises the regeneration of former coalfield areas over the last fifteen years, the good work of organisations such as the Coalfield Regeneration Trust, and the largest industrial injury settlement in legal history secured by the previous Government for former miners suffering from bronchitis and emphysema; further recognises the ongoing problems highlighted recently by the report produced by Sheffield Hallam University on The State of the Coalfields, which revealed that there are still significant problems for the majority of Britain’s coalfield communities, such as fewer jobs, lower business formation rates, higher unemployment rates, more people with serious health issues, higher numbers in receipt of welfare benefits and a struggling voluntary and community sector; and therefore calls for the continued regeneration and much needed support for coalfield communities as part of a wider programme to boost growth in Britain’s regions.
In other words, the Conservative Party no longer even attempts to deny that the words highlighted are factually correct.
Meanwhile, we face blackouts over the winter. I cannot imagine how that can have happened.
That, or how we are always going to war in, for or on behalf of oil-producing countries.
It's come to something when Opposition motions on a Tuesday afternoon are being passed without a vote. The Tories have given up. They can't wait to lose.
ReplyDeleteEspecially when the motion in question was this.
DeleteIf she had still been alive, then they would all have turned up to vote against this even though the released papers would have proved them wrong.
But she is dead. Effectively, therefore, so are they.