Debate on the Address

Part of Orders of the Day — Kings's Speech – in the House of Commons at 12:00 am on 29 October 1948.

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Photo of Lord John Hope Lord John Hope , Midlothian and Peeblesshire Northern 12:00, 29 October 1948

If people do not know all about measures, which they intend to put through, and which affect the lives of the people of this country, then they ought not to come into power. It is a disgraceful admission of half-baked measures put through without any knowledge of how to carry them out. My point is that, so far as steel is concerned, the Government are quite clearly absolved from trying to put through yet another Measure of nationalisation, in view of the fact that this will not be half as easy as hon. Members opposite thought that it would be, during the years when they had power without responsibility. I hope that there will he no question of "Let us Face the Future" excuses when the Government come to put through this Bill. No doubt, they think there are other merits for the Bill, and I hope they will stick to those when the time comes.

I now come to the question of Government extravagance. We are always being asked on this side of the House where we would economise if we were in power. That is a perfectly fair and reasonable question. I am sometimes surprised at the frequency with which that question is asked, considering how often it is answered. Hon. Gentlemen opposite had a full and detailed answer laid before them by the right hon. and gallant Member for Gainsborough (Captain Crookshank) during the last Debate on the Estimates, when he went through item after item to show how grossly extravagant the Government were in their administration of the country's affairs. I can assure hon. Gentlemen opposite that we could find subjects for economy without touching the social services, from the Central Office of Information, for instance, whose expenditure amounts to millions, quite unnecessarily, down to the Potato and Carrot Division of the Ministry of Food with its 72 offices and wages and salaries bill amounting to close on half a million pounds.

We can find plenty of examples. Hon. Members may remember one or two. They may remember the account for £10 million for printing of stationery—a perfectly scandalous item. They will perhaps remember also the rise in the cost of staff of the Ministry of Works from £500,000 before the war to no less than £9 million.