|
Mr. Rob Wilson (Reading, East) (Con):
Can the
Leader of the House make time for a debate on British waterways, to assist the
education of the Prime Minister? Waterways play a crucial role in the lives of
my constituents, yet the Prime Minister knew nothing yesterday about the deep
cuts that are taking place. His ignorance can be seen in all its glory at
column 869 in Hansard. My constituents are worried that the Prime Minister is
so out of touch, especially in view of the fact that he has a “save our
waterways” petition on his own website, listed at No. 9.
Mr. Straw:
In fact, the Prime Minister is well
informed about that subject. I have a waterway running through my
constituency—the Leeds-Liverpool canal—which has been transformed as
a result of fantastic extra investment by the Government in the past 10 years.
We have put in huge extra sums; those sums are down a little, but the
investment that we are making in the waterways is still significantly more than
the investment put in by the previous Government, whom the hon. Gentleman
supported. |
