European Affairs

I am not at all sure that my hon. Friend's characterisation of the labour markets across Europe is correct. It is true that sometimes it is more difficult to sack somebody in other parts of Europe, but it is also more difficult to employ somebody—to take somebody on—in other parts of Europe. Our having a flexible labour market has been an important part of ensuring the strength of the UK economy. It is also interesting that, whereas many people were predicting at the start of this year that we would have 3 million unemployed by the beginning of December, we have not reached that figure. That is because we have both taken concerted action in the UK and worked with countries that are our important trading partners across Europe to try to make sure jobs are protected.