"SOS SOUTH WEST" CAMPAIGN: FOOT AND MOUTH DISEASE AND THE ECONOMY IN THE SOUTH WEST

That this House commends The Western Morning News, The Express and Echo, The Herald Express and The Evening Herald for their SOS South West Campaign with its plea to the Prime Minister on behalf of the people of the South West; notes that Devon and Cornwall is a region in crisis and that the foot and mouth plague which has savaged the farming industry now threatens to bring the whole of the industry to the brink of economic disaster; notes further that farming and tourism together represent 30 per cent of the region's GDP; notes that job losses in Devon may well eclipse those seen in manufacturing industries like Longbridge where ú150 million of taxpayers' money was committed; notes that economists have provisionally estimated that Devon alone could lose 10,000 jobs; and calls upon Her Majesty's Government to acknowledge that the South West is a region worth saving with a properly funded programme of substantial regional aid.