Points of Order: Ulster MPs feel warm glow of influence

• Published in: The Guardian (London)
• Main Author: EDITED BY MICHAEL WHITE
• Format: Newspaper Article
• Language: English
• Published: Manchester (UK) Guardian News & Media Limited 23.10.1992
• ISSN: 0261-3077

On Wednesday night, the Welsh Secretary, David Hunt, an ex-coal minister substituting for Tim Eggar, the hapless incumbent, beamed with joy when Antrim East's Roy Beggs asked for a review of such juicy items as gas and electricity tie-ups to the mainland. "Without qualification," Mr Hunt replied. No one bothered that Labour made similar noises, circa 1979. PRESIDENT Hezza's pits closure performance at the despatch box won mixed reviews yesterday, but not from that redoubtable Conservative organ, The Yorkshire Post. Despite the Prezza's generous plug for its sister paper, which had revealed that Leeds city council was buying Colombian coal ("mined by slave children") instead of the Yorkshire variety, the YP reported that the jibe had backfired on the President. In the Leeds case, the YP reports, Anglo-Coal, the local middleman, simply undercut British Coal's bid on the 12,000 tons a year contract by around pounds 600,000 a year via Bogota: hence Yorkshire politicians like Tories Eric Pickles and Hezza-phile Keith Hampson slugging it out with Labour's John Battle in the Commons. Since when Leeds council leader, Jon Trickett, has moved to block the contract.