Housing

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

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Photo of Mr Harry Selley Mr Harry Selley , Battersea South 12:00, 23 March 1945

My preference would be while the House is in session and I would ask hon. Members not to interfere with the performance.

I wish to make this contention, speaking for the private enterprise builder. It has been stated that all opportunity will be given, and an hon. Member on the Liberal benches suggested that money was to be loaned to the municipalities at 2½ per cent. Do not give the municipalities a hidden subsidy. If there is any money going about at 2½ per cent, see that it is handed on to the other people who will undertake to do the same job and give the same result. If that is done I have no fear as to who will build the houses. My hon. Friends opposite are not interested in that. What they are interested in is "Who owns them?" I do not think that matters a button. The great building societies are bulging with cash, and nearly every man in the country has a nest-egg somewhere. Where better could he use it than in buying a house for himself?

The hon. Member for Gorbals (Mr. Buchanan) objected to the profit motive. He said that of course private enterprise would do it if there was a profit. I would like to know what the working man works for if not a profit? He is certainly not there for the good of his health. If we are to get on with this great problem let us include all the agencies. Do not let us make party politics of it, if there is a private enterprise builder who can produce houses for the occupation of the class of people we all have in mind, and it is not only one class that requires housing.

Some Members speak as if all the men who went to the front were from municipal estates. They went from every class of house in the country. Those men from the £1,000 villas will not want to come back and be housed by municipalities. Give private enterprise encouragement, and I think that it will provide the personnel for the industry. The building of 150,000 houses will require about 15,000 bricklayers for one year. I do not know how many bricklayers there are in the country, but you can multiply that figure as many times as you like, and I will still stand by my statement that 15,000 bricklayers can build about 150,000 houses in a year—and I am allowing for a fortnight's holiday in the year.