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AMENDMENT OF THE LAW

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. A little Brown pill is much better than a little blue pill. The flavour of what the Leader of the Opposition and the very knowledgeable right hon. Member for Wokingham (Mr. Redwood) seemed to be saying was that nothing has improved in 10 years: that we have spent all this money—yes, we have, and it is a jolly good thing—and it has all been wasted. The right hon. Member for Wokingham repeatedly used that word, and it was implied, if not used in terms, by the Leader of the Opposition. I do not know what it is like in Witney—I have not been there in probably 40 years—or in Wokingham, which I have never had the pleasure of visiting. However, I know what it is like in Wolverhampton, where I was born and have lived almost all my life, and which I have the honour to represent. I invite the Leader of the Opposition and the right hon. Member for Wokingham to visit Wolverhampton if they think that nothing has changed, and to consider not just factors such as the dignity of work and people’s lives—I referred to them earlier—but the physical things that one can see, which is the simplest measure. There are all kinds of other things going on behind closed doors, if I might put it that way, but let them consider the physical factors. My partner and I have lived in the same house for more than 23 years, and I know the streets in my area like the back of my hand. I know who has had double glazing in the past 10 years. It is not always possible to see round the back of people’s houses; even so, I know who has had a conservatory fitted in the past 10 years. [Interruption.] Opposition Members are having a little giggle, which is fair enough, but those are visible symptoms of increased prosperity. I can tell who has had a new roof, and so could the Leader of the Opposition, the right hon. Member for Wokingham or any other Member who visited the street where I live, which is in one of the most deprived wards in the country. I can see who has had their dormer windows done. Such prosperity is visible, but it is also visible on a public scale. The idea is that all the money has been wasted somehow, but those right hon. Members could come and see the new—well, it is about three years old—heart and lung centre at New Cross hospital, the acute hospital that serves my constituents in Wolverhampton and some of the surrounding areas. It is arguably—according to the professionals, not just to the politicians—the best in Europe. It is a fantastic facility. Consultants from other parts of the world visit. They look at the machinery and say, ““We’ve got one of those: you’ve got one for every bed.”” They are goggle-eyed at the centre, which was built under this Government. It was also financed by this Government, and it is not PFI, I am glad to say. My hon. Friend the Member for Livingston (Mr. Devine) mentioned his previous career. He and others might wish to visit Penn mental health hospital in my constituency, which has been almost totally rebuilt and deals with out-patients and in-patients. The mental health trust run by the PCT has a three-star rating. Hon. Members could see the new building and the refurbished old building. They could also see the Tettenhall Wood institute community centre, which has had £500,000 of taxpayers’ money spent on it, half of which was euro-dosh. The children’s centre in my constituency is a brand new building near West park and around 300 m from my office. On a smaller scale, hon. Members could also see the Oakley Buckley community centre, which has been completely refurbished under this Government. The university has had a £70 million investment, including the new glass front on the Mick Harrison building. If my right hon. Friend the Paymaster General, who is in her place on the Front Bench, visited the University of Wolverhampton—I know that she knows it well, but has not visited it for a while—she would be amazed by the development that has taken place.