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The Tote

Like my right hon. Friend, I am a former Minister of Trade. Some of the companies that may want to bid for the Tote already have huge holdings in the European Community. There is an issue about the marketplace. Although my right hon. Friend is not being cavalier in his comments—he is his usual stylish self when it comes to promoting his case—we need to step back and sort out the competition issues. Increasingly, bids for any part of the Tote will attract international attention. The industry is becoming global in all aspects 24/7. That will result in more issues to do with competition. Whatever happens, we should ensure that such competition is fair for the consumer but that it also maintains resources in the constituency of my hon. Friend the Member for Wigan (Mr. Turner) and in mine, as 640 jobs are stake if we get it wrong.