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Pre-Budget Report

My hon. Friend has made a valid point. I was delighted to hear the news that people who had been outsourcing—which produced a series of holes in the fabric of Britain's industrial society—are now bringing the work back to this country, partly because of the devaluation. I want that process to continue, but the Government, and my hon. Friends in general, must bear in mind that this manufacturing recovery is starting from a low and damaged base. It must go a great deal further, and must be encouraged and supported by Government, before it can produce the effects that I have described. We have a mountain to climb before we can again provide jobs for the people, pay our way in the world, and rebuild the manufacturing base from which innovation, productivity and national survival spring. That should have been the main message of the pre-Budget report, and because it is not, I am a little disappointed in it.