Trade Unions

Lord Cormack Excerpts

Monday 7th July 2014 Grand Committee

[Lord Cormack (Con)]

My Lords, it is a great pleasure to be able to follow two such distinguished trade unionists, both of whom epitomise what my noble friend Lord Balfe was talking about in his opening speech. They epitomise responsible trade unionism. I cannot claim, like my noble friend Lord Balfe, ever to have been a member of the Labour Party, but I have always had a great respect for the history of the Labour Party and, in particular, for those Christian socialists who, in a dignified and responsible manner in the nineteenth century, gave the working man—it was mostly the working man in those days—a voice. I honour that, and I believe that our country has received an enormous contribution from those who have served in the Labour Party and in the trade union movement, although I rejoice in the fact—enunciated and underlined by my noble friend Lord Balfe—that one does not now talk of a trade unionist automatically being a member of a particular political party.

The underlying theme of this debate is partnership. We cannot have true and lasting prosperity in our country without a real and continuing partnership “from two sides of industry”. I do not like that phrase, I would rather say “from all of those who are committed to the commercial and industrial development of our great country”. I have been involved, for the last 12 or 13 years, with an award for responsible capitalism. It came out of the magazine First. Way back in the late 1990s, I had a series of discussions with the chairman of that company, Mr Rupert Goodman, and Lord Dahrendorf. We decided that we wished to challenge the captains of industry to emulate the Robert Owens and the Cadburys of the past and practise true responsible capitalism. Responsible capitalism means not only a commitment to a profitable enterprise—it clearly means that—but recognition of the needs and aspirations of those who work, and of the environment in which they work.

Way back in 2000, we were able to persuade the then Chancellor of the Exchequer, Mr Gordon Brown, to present the first annual award for responsible capitalism. Year in and year out since then we have continued to do that. Sadly, since then, Lord Dahrendorf has died. He was one of the most truly remarkable men who have ever sat in your Lordships’ House. He was replaced as chairman of the panel of judges by the noble and learned Lord, Lord Woolf, the former Chief Justice, who had himself presented the awards in a previous year. I believe that it is incumbent on us all to do everything possible to encourage responsibility in all of those who work for the future of our great country. Whether they are those in positions of managerial authority, or those who are working with their hands as well as their heads, responsibility and partnership are surely the key words.

I have been fortunate enough in recent weeks to initiate two debates in your Lordships’ House. One was on the subject of craft apprenticeships, and the other was on citizenship. I want to see the day when every one of our young people leaving school goes through the sort of citizenship ceremony that those who are becoming British citizens and subjects go through as recognition of their responsibilities and their rights. I believe that the trade union movement can play a significant part in encouraging that sort of responsible citizenship because those responsibilities interact and work together.

I also believe that there is no group of organisations better able to promote true and proper craft apprenticeships than our trade unions. I see an expanding role for them in that context in the years ahead. I deplore the yah-boo politics that occasionally still disfigure the other place and paint people into different corners because if we do not work together in partnership in this country whatever our background, ethnicity or religious beliefs, we will not be able to prosper as we should and truly inherit the legacy of the past created by men and women who had responsibility and partnership as their watchwords.

One of the winners of the award for responsible capitalism was Sir Charlie Mayfield of the John Lewis Partnership. There is no better example of true responsibility and involving all those who have a role in the organisation concerned than the John Lewis Partnership. May that be a role model for us all in the years ahead. I have enormous confidence in the future of this country, but that confidence could so easily be undermined if we saw a resurgence of small-minded industrial cold war rhetoric which could do no one any good at all as we move through the 21st century.

I applaud my noble friend for introducing this subject. I apologise for my slightly random remarks. I do not write speeches, but I feel very passionate about this and I very much hope that those outside who read this debate will feel, as the noble Lord, Lord Monks, said, somewhat inspired by it.