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Defence

The hon. Member for Glasgow, South-West (Mr. Davidson) suggested that this had been a lacklustre debate. I take issue with him, because the opening exchanges between my hon. Friend the Member for Woodspring (Dr. Fox)—as you know, Mr. Deputy Speaker, he has apologised because he is unable to be here for the winding-up speeches—and the Defence Secretary were spirited and feisty. In addition, of course, we have had five splendid contributions from Conservatives, none of which lacked any lustre whatever. Indeed, they were characterised by two splendid valedictories. The first valedictory was from my hon. Friend the Member for Salisbury (Robert Key), who, as was pointed out, has given superb service to the Defence Committee, and indeed, once occupied my position as Opposition Defence spokesman at the Dispatch Box. I have been able to learn from him, although any mistakes are entirely my own. The second was from my hon. Friend the Member for Congleton (Ann Winterton), whom my hon. Friend the Member for North Essex (Mr. Jenkin) described as bringing a "freshness" to the debate. That is not entirely how I see it—she made her case with a stiletto-like performance on the need for armoured vehicle designs that are more likely to save lives than lose them, as she has done so effectively in the past, as has been acknowledged. Everyone in the official Opposition will miss my hon. Friends—although of course we will be in government by then—but we will look forward to their contributions from further afield. I am sure they will not hesitate to continue to give us advice. There were three valedictories from the Government Benches, including one from the hon. Member for Newcastle upon Tyne, North (Mr. Henderson), who is a regular in defence debates. In my experience, he always produces some interesting comments and is a great contributor. If I may say so, in a spirit of cross-party unison, the whole House will miss his contributions to such debates. Not a single Liberal Democrat Back Bencher made a contribution, but that is par for the course. They do not turn up for these debates. Presumably they are busy with pavement politics around the country. The hon. Member for Dunfermline and West Fife (Willie Rennie) did his best to hold the flag aloft, and was joined for a very short time by the right hon. and learned Member for North-East Fife (Sir Menzies Campbell). He generally contributes to such debates, and we are sorry that we did not hear from him today. The hon. Member for Newcastle upon Tyne, North suggested that such debates should not be too partisan. I am sorry, but I think they need occasionally to be partisan. The idea that the Government have not been partisan is rather wide of the mark. I have a rather interesting leaflet, which I gather is circulating in South Ribble. It has the very non-partisan title of , "Vote Conservative And Destroy The Defence Industry." I can tell the Under-Secretary of State for Defence, the hon. Member for Grantham and Stamford (Mr. Davies), who is looking at me smugly from the Government Front Bench—before he makes his own valedictory and disappears—that that is a scurrilous leaflet. It says:""it is a bit worrying that the Conservatives, should they get elected, are looking to scrap a number of Defence Projects."" We are not looking to scrap a number of defence projects. We are looking to build a vibrant defence-industrial base in this country. However, we will have a proper defence review, from which nothing but the Trident successor will be exempted. The electors of South Ribble have a fantastic candidate in Lorraine Fullbrook, who I am sure will make a splendid job of representing them. Putting out lies on behalf of the Labour party will not help the Government's cause.