Self-Employment

Debate between Lord Harrington of Watford and David Morris

Tuesday 24th January 2012 Westminster Hall

[Richard Harrington]

My hon. Friend makes very valid points. I hope that I speak for all hon. Members involved in this debate when I point out that Richard Branson and Bill Gates are examples of people whom we would regard as being very successful and would look up to. Both Richard Branson and Bill Gates were rejects from the mainstream academic system. Obviously, when I say “rejects”, I do not mean that they were not up to it, but that they were, through whatever personality they had or whatever came about, not part of it. My hon. Friend’s helpful intervention supports my argument, rather than the other way round.

In my constituency of Watford, there are some excellent initiatives. For example, Wenta, which is run by Chris Pichon and Sharon Gaffney, has many schemes to help schools give young children the opportunity to become entrepreneurs and to create an incubator for people who are without a job to help them set up their own business. Lots of good efforts are happening, but the fundamental point is to ask people to think culturally, socially and educationally. There is still a feeling against the acceptability of business in this country that is not present in Germany or the United States. As I have said, such an attitude is a result of hundreds of years of looking down on business.

[David Morris (Morecambe and Lunesdale) (Con)]

I agree with everything my hon. Friend has said. Back in the 1980s, the manpower allowances service scheme was brought in by Margaret Thatcher’s Government. That scheme took people who were on the unemployment register and gave them twice the amount of unemployment benefit, so that they could go self-employed. Indeed, I was one of those people, and I built up a business that employed more than 100 people and experienced the same sleepless nights as my hon. Friend.