CYCLE FRAME PRODUCTION BY RALEIGH

Motion Text

That this House notes with sadness that 9th December 1999 marked the day on which Raleigh ceased to be a mass producer of cycle frames in Britain; further notes that the high tech, laser and multi-robot equipment going under the auctioneer's hammer the following day had only been installed three years ago and is almost certain to go to Raleigh's major competitors in China and Taiwan; expresses concern that the environmental, labour and health and safety standards which the company set and met form part of the price penalty of responsible production under today's trade rules; and calls upon the Government to draw up a strategy policy for manufacturing which does not consign Britain's future to being little more than a screwdriver assembly plant.