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AMENDMENT OF THE LAW

It is a great pleasure to follow the right hon. Member for Fylde (Mr. Jack) and to listen to his words of wisdom about our financial institutions. He joins the hon. Member for Beckenham (Mrs. Lait), who also made an excellent speech, about the problems resulting from, if I may say so, the misuse of financial instruments—the bundling up and selling off, the derivatives and futures, and the hedging. All are useful tools in the world of finance, but when misused, they have created enormous danger. The right hon. Gentleman made that extremely clear. Interestingly, I recall the Leader of the Opposition suggesting not so long ago that the City was falling out of love with Labour. On the back of the remarks that we have heard from the right hon. Member for Fylde and the hon. Member for Beckenham, it would seem that the City has not yet found a new suitor in the Conservative party, with those attacks on the behaviour of the very institutions that, formally and traditionally, were its major supporters. The Conservative party’s whole approach has to find a new pathway, so perhaps the right hon. Gentleman and the hon. Lady should communicate that to their leader.