1st reading: House of Commons
Tuesday 29th November 2016

(8 years ago)

Commons Chamber
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Greg Clark Portrait Greg Clark
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There are indeed, and the range of stakeholders has long been recognised in company law, as my hon. Friend knows. The question is: in a world in which there are now more very large privately held businesses that do not have a full stock market listing than was the case in the past, is this the appropriate time to extend this measure to those businesses?

Jason McCartney Portrait Jason McCartney (Colne Valley) (Con)
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Will the Secretary of State join me in acknowledging the good point made by the hon. Member for Walsall North (Mr Winnick) about trade unions? A decade ago, as a union representative, I led industrial action against our then fat cat boss, who was making poor business decisions, cutting jobs and having a pay freeze, while still getting his multimillion-pound bonuses. Of course I am now a Conservative MP, and he is now a Labour peer.

Greg Clark Portrait Greg Clark
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That is a useful parable, which just goes to illustrate further the point I was making about the commitment we have on the Conservative side of the House. I know that my right hon. Friend the Member for Surrey Heath (Michael Gove) is also a veteran of industrial action, showing that my hon. Friend the Member for Colne Valley (Jason McCartney) is not alone in this shared history.