I meet my right hon. Friend the Chancellor regularly to discuss a range of issues.
Does the Secretary of State recall the last time that he was in charge of the Labour party campaign in Scotland, when he said that he wanted to engender fear in the Scottish population? Is he aware that the leading Labour economist, Mr. John McLaren, recently published an index of success for the Federation of Small Businesses? It gives Scotland a middle ranking among Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development countries, but places it only 10th out of the 10 small countries to which it refers. Can the right hon. Gentleman supply any reason why Switzerland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Finland, New Zealand, Ireland, Denmark and Austria should all be above Scotland in the index, save that they are independent countries where it would be difficult to engender fear?
I am fascinated that, today of all days, the hon. Gentleman should choose to raise the issue of the leadership of campaigns for the Scottish Parliament, given that his party has just announced that its 2007 campaign will be led by a Westminster MP. That seems to be the criterion for leadership in the Scottish National party.
The hon. Gentleman asked a substantive question about Scotland’s economic performance. He mentioned the OECD, and I refer him to that organisation’s economic survey of the UK. It described the UK as a “paragon of stability” and stated that that was
“a testament to the strength of the institutional arrangements for setting monetary and fiscal policy”.
If the hon. Gentleman wants to talk seriously about the state of the Scottish economy, I suggest that he looks at the report published this month in Scottish Engineering’s quarterly review. In his statement accompanying that report, Dr. Peter Hughes, Scottish Engineering’s respected chief executive, said:
“It is particularly gratifying to see our industry performing well in so many areas. Our home markets remain healthy and exports continue to grow.”
If things are as bad as the hon. Gentleman says, why does everyone accept that they are so good?
Is my right hon. Friend aware that there has been a remarkable transformation of the economy in Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill under this Chancellor of the Exchequer? Does he rejoice with me that we have the lowest unemployment, the highest employment and the lowest youth unemployment in a generation? Inflation is at its lowest level that many of us can remember, and mortgages are at their lowest level for a very long time. That gives our young people unprecedented prosperity, with new homes and new opportunity—
Order. I hope that the Secretary of State can give a brief reply.
Of course, the Scottish economy is in a strong position. Economic growth in Scotland last year exceeded that of the major European economies, and our employment rate is higher than in the rest of the UK and almost all other European countries. My right hon. Friend raises a specific constituency point, and I know that he has been a tireless campaigner for the interests of Lanarkshire and his community for many years. Representing Paisley as I do, I am fully aware that it is exactly the maintenance of economic growth over so many years that means that prosperity is reaching even those parts of Scotland that were left behind by the temporary economic booms of past decades. That is why I am unyielding in my admiration for the work of this Government in securing economic prosperity for all parts of Scotland.
Does the Secretary of State agree that when it comes to measuring the Scottish economy, one problem is the disparity between statistics for Scotland, the UK as a whole and for England? When he next meets the Chancellor of the Exchequer or the Scottish Executive, will he see what can be done to bring into harmony the statistics for the UK provided by the Office for National Statistics and by the chief statistician for Scotland?
I am not convinced of the hon. Gentleman’s case. If one looks across the range of indicators, it is clear that the Scottish economy is strong. There is no doubt that we have had sustained economic growth for a number of years, and that levels of employment have risen as a consequence.