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The Tote

I was outside this place at the time, but I certainly supported turning British Steel's £1.5 million a day loss into profit. I continue to support that kind of thing, but the Tote is a different situation altogether. It was set up for racing. The right hon. Member for Sheffield, Central, made the case that it is not so much a business as part of a sport, and I shall advance that argument in a moment. As I was saying, we have had a 10-year delay. In a previous debate initiated by Mr. Richard Page, then the Member for South-West Hertfordshire, I urged that the process be completed. The then Minister, who is now the Minister for Pensions Reform, rebuked me by saying:"““Although the hon. Member for Tewkesbury thinks that the process has taken a long time, it has not taken longer than we planned.””—[Official Report, Westminster Hall, 19 January 2000; Vol. 342, c. 219WH.]" Those words were spoken on 19 January 2000, eight and a half years ago. We were being rebuked for trying to press the matter on. As we have heard, the result of the delay is that the staff at Wigan, whose jobs I believe should be protected, are unsettled, senior members of the Tote have been lost and it is very difficult for the Tote to recruit people. That has had a destabilising effect on it and can hardly be helping its finances. Importantly, it cannot be helping to enhance its value if it is to be sold commercially. At the risk of embarrassing the right hon. Member for Sheffield, Central, who has admitted his culpability in the process to a degree, I add that when the Horserace Betting and Olympic Lottery Bill was introduced in 2004, it was extraordinary that its very purpose, the sale or transfer of the Tote, was not mentioned in it. The only thing that was included in the Bill was the nationalisation of the Tote, as a number of us pointed out at the time. It was stated outside the House that the purpose was to transfer the Tote to the new trust, which was set up under the chairmanship of Lord Lipsey, but that was not stated in the Bill. The late Robin Cook, who took an active role in racing, said in the debate on the 2004 Act:"““For the avoidance of doubt, will my right hon. Friend””—" the right hon. Member for Sheffield, Central, who was then the Minister—"““confirm that it is the Government's clear intention to sell the Tote to the racing trust, and that there is no reason at the moment why that should not happen?””" The right hon. Member for Sheffield, Central replied:"““I can give my right hon. Friend that confirmation… I see no reason why the sale of the Tote to the racing trust should not go ahead””." Rather ominously, he continued,"““but it would be wrong if the Government did not make provision for other eventualities.””" That concerned me deeply, and I said that"““the Bill does not guarantee that the Tote will be sold to the racing trust. The Minister says that he cannot foresee any circumstances in which that would not happen, but one factor that might prevent such a sale would be if the Government asked for too much money.””—[Official Report, 8 January 2004; Vol. 416, c.442-43.]" Later in the debate, I asked:"““What guarantee do we have that it will not just be sold to the highest bidder? What guarantee do we have that the Government's finances at that time, which are deteriorating, will not dictate that the Tote is sold to the highest bidder?””—[Official Report, 8 January 2004; Vol. 416, c.482.]" I claim no particular insider foresight because I got it spot on, but the Tote is now to be sold to the highest bidder, which concerns me for a number of reasons.