Orders of the Day — Ministry of Fuel and Power Bill

Part of the debate – in the House of Commons at 12:00 am on 23 February 1945.

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Photo of Mr Emanuel Shinwell Mr Emanuel Shinwell , Seaham 12:00, 23 February 1945

Do not let us judge the importance of an industry merely by its output. You judge it by its relation to national needs and development but even in output, if you take pre-war considerations into account, fuel, power, electricity and gas, are just as important as agriculture. But do not let us proceed on that basis at all. Agriculture is as important, therefore you must have a Ministry. Fuel and power are important, therefore you must have a Ministry. When my hon. Friend the Member for Gower (Mr. Grenfell) was dismissed, almost at a moment's notice, in a most summary fashion, and the present Minister was put in his place, in as summary a fashion, and for reasons which have not yet been disclosed, I thought that on the whole that was a good thing, not because my hon. Friend was displaced or because my right hon. and gallant Friend was put in his stead, but that he should have a Department with some conception of coordination. It was a grand thing and I want it continued. My hon. Friend was doing as well as the right hon. and gallant Gentleman has done ever since, except that he has a costly organisation, some of it very unnecessary. Moreover if a statement is to be made about the coal position next winter it ought to be made by the Minister. We are always told that we cannot criticise civil servants. If we cannot criticise civil servants, civil servants ought not to make political pronouncements.

I listened with great interest to the speeches of my hon. Friends the Members for Ince (Mr. Brown) and Barnsley (Mr. Collindridge) about the need for skilled labour, better educational facilities, safety and transport. We know all about those matters, but they are not what is being discussed in the Bill. What are you doing about fuel and power in the future? Will you show some imagination, or are we going back to the old system? I beg hon. Members not to allow this industry to return to the past. The country cannot afford it. If we mean to make the industry something really worth while and remove discontent, clear away the mess and muddle and give the people of this country a sense of satisfaction and gratification in the knowledge that they possess a great industry, you must have effective co-ordination. This is but the beginning. The consummation will depend on the legislation that the House passes in the future.