Budget Resolutions and Economic Situation

I am grateful to you, Mr. Deputy Speaker, although I managed to get my little flash in before you rose to your feet. I would like to draw the House's attention to "Vision", a supplement of the Middlesbrough Evening Gazette, which describes""how Teesside's iron fist could forge a new beginning."" "Vision" is also published with The Journal in Newcastle, and it gives the same message of optimism for two industrial areas that have lost nothing in their vibrancy, their determination or their work ethic, notwithstanding the global recession. Earlier I mentioned low-carbon and advanced manufacturing. Teesside fully intends to take advantage of the low-carbon sector, because the Tees valley is well placed to do so. It has its port lands, both at Teesport and Victoria harbour in Hartlepool—lands attached to the Corus plant. There are also offshore wind farms and biofuels, while in the Tees valley there are already facilities to capture carbon dioxide and store it under the North sea, with possible links to assisting the oil and gas sector. However, in addition to developing a low-carbon economy, the Tees valley, and Middlesbrough in particular, is leading in other sectors that will hopefully assist the long-term future of the economy, and specifically in the digital-creative sector. Middlesbrough council, in partnership with Teesside university, has developed Digital City, building on the university's burgeoning reputation in computer sciences, to retain graduates in the town and create policies and graduate businesses in the sector. In short, the mothballing of the blast furnace at Redcar might cast a deep and long shadow, but if one combines the £60 million investment programme with the original £130 million investment from One North East for 2009 to 2012, along with the £200 million pipeline contract, we can see £390 million of investment flowing into Teesside. I agree with my Evening Gazette that Teesside's iron fist could forge a new beginning. Lest it be thought that the private sector was excluded—I welcome the Chancellor's statements today about small and medium-sized businesses, as well as the various measures that he is taking—I should say that local entrepreneurs have a considerable track record on Teesside, having created the Wynyard business park, which has attracted 58 new businesses and £250 million of private investment, creating 1,200 jobs in the past few years. The Secretary of State for Health recently confirmed the creation of a new £464 million state-of-the-art hospital on the site to service the communities of Stockton and Hartlepool. What we need, and what we are getting on Teesside, is a new start—a fresh start, for the people and for industry, for our future. It is good to go down memory lane—even I can tickle the fancy of the Conservatives by going back to 1979 and the noble Lady Thatcher cutting public expenditure—as long as one does not stay there. It is good to look at the past, with its heritage, but it is more important to look to the future, with its hope, and to do so with a determination and focus built on skills, a work ethic and fraternity within society. We have seen many things on Teesside, but it builds itself again and renews itself again, and it will continue to do so. It is incumbent on us all in the area to show leadership, work together, unite among ourselves and unite our community so that all will gain individually, and society will also gain. Let me end on the Budget, which is most important to Teesside and the people who live and work there. It is, of course, the final Budget of this Government—there will be a general election before another Budget—but it is also a parameter-setting Budget. It will give the community, who study the Budget carefully, hope in their future—hope under a Labour Government. Given the response of the Conservatives, the Budget will also let the community see through the shallowness of Conservative policy and, on many occasions, the idiocy of Conservative policies. When it comes to the vote, those on the Opposition Benches will find, probably to their dismay, that they will still be there after the next election.