Orders of the Day — Requisitioned Land and War Works Bill

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

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Photo of Mr Fred Marshall Mr Fred Marshall , Sheffield, Brightside 12:00, 12 April 1945

I have listened to this Debate and it seems to me that as we go along the feeling gets stronger for this Amendment. I can state my position very briefly. These common possessions are so precious to the people of this country that only Parliament should have the right to vary those possessions by taking something away from them. I would not allow any commission to have the function of taking away the common lands of the people of this country. I listened to the Chancellor yesterday and his speech, though couched in very precise and logical terms, left me cold. It left the position where the Commission could recommend the acquisition of the common lands of this country and, according to the other Clauses of the Bill, common lands could be acquired and then re-sold to a private individual. That would be an intolerable thing.

It is quite true that the Chancellor grouped together all the very little concessions he had made in the Bill—such as the right of anybody interested in common lands to appear before the Commission and state their case—and the Financial Secretary to-day has indicated that they are prepared to put something down that will enable the Treasury to purchase land by agreement by way of substitution, but that is not enough. My position is that when this tidying-up process is over, the total acreage of the common lands and open spaces of this country should not be less as a consequence of this process. That is my stand and I think there is a tremendous feeling in the country behind that attitude. The Chancellor said he had sympathy with the Amendment. No one doubts it. He said there was no difference in principle between himself and the mover of the Amendment, that it was only a difference in method. In my estimation there is a vital difference in principle between the attitude of the Chancellor and of those who want this Amendment carried.

The Chancellor has a clear way out, and I add my appeal to those already made that he should accept the Amendment and allow Parliament to decide on this great and important issue of the common lands of this country, and that where acquisition has to take place owing to the existence of very valuable war buildings on common lands, he shall then provide other lands in substitution. That is the minimum we can demand. I do not think the Chancellor understands the strength of feeling behind this agitation, not only in this Committee but all over the country. As a matter of fact the people of this country since the end of the last war have been enjoying the open spaces here in ever-increasing numbers. Where you had one rambling club you now have 40, and this is going on year by year at an ever-increasing rate. It is one of the most promising aspects of the young men of our generation and I can quite imagine the feelings of despair in their minds if they feel that Parliament has authorised a Commission to take away these very precious rights.

One has only to think about how the common lands were created. Many of them, of course, are remnants left to the public after the old enclosure Acts—one of the most infamous crimes ever perpetrated against the British public. Others have been bequests to the public by all sorts of well-disposed people. Others have been acquired almost by the blood and sweat of the public. I can give an illustration. Only last Saturday I presided over a great gathering in the Peak of Derbyshire when the crown of one of the most beautiful hills of that area was presented to the ramblers of the district. When I say that £500 had been raised by the rambling community around Sheffield to purchase that, the Committee can understand how precious these rights are. As I say, the Chancellor has an easy way out and I am not impressed by the statement of all these difficulties I say that no Commission should be invested with the right to decide this matter; Parliament is the only body that can do it. It would be one of the worst possible tragedies if the people of this country found that this special heritage of theirs was decreased by the processes of this Bill. Then indeed it would be the case that their great possessions had been sold for a mess of pottage.