Secretary Of State For Scotland And Unemployment

EDM number 359 in 1998-99, proposed by Alex Salmond on 24/02/1999.

That this House deplores the dismissive nature of the response from the Secretary of State for Scotland to the honourable Member for Falkirk West at Scottish questions on 23rd February on the issue of rising unemployment; believes that the honourable Member for Falkirk West was raising an issue of both local and national concern and that for the Secretary of State for Scotland to describe the honourable Member's question as suggesting the 'end of the world is nigh' is deeply insulting to the thousands of Scots threatened with redundancy, to whom the prospect is often akin to the end of their world; and recalls that those in previous governments who have made similar remarks such as 'unemployment is a price worth paying' or suggesting people should get 'on their bikes' to find work have lived to regret treating this subject in an insensitive or flippant way.

This motion has been signed by a total of 2 MPs.