Supplementary Reserve

Part of British Flyers Make Idlewild Gasp – in the House of Commons at 12:00 am on 8 March 1949.

Alert me about debates like this

Photo of Mr Brendan Bracken Mr Brendan Bracken , Bournemouth 12:00, 8 March 1949

I entirely agree with the right hon. Gentleman. I was for a very brief time his immediate successor. But let me point out that since the war, the Russians have given over tremendous sums of money for the development of the submarine. I wonder how much money has been given to the Royal Navy to discharge this task? The Russians care nothing about the expenditure of money if they can achieve their aims. While I welcome the interruption of the right hon. Gentleman I can say this to him as Minister of Defence. If he had half of the Navy Estimates granted to Russia—of course, it is a Navy Estimate based on building submarines alone; they do not want to build battleships—how happy he would be, and in my judgment he would see that we had the fastest escort vessels—and plenty of them—known to man in order to meet this menace.

But as the Minister of Defence has interrupted me, and more or less asked me a question, may I ask him: Are these fast escort vessels being built? I do not expect him to answer, because his auxiliary, the First Lord—that is how we explain relationships now between Service Ministers and the Minister of Defence—tells us, "I do not propose this year to undertake any substantial programme of new construction."

In another part of his statement he declared that it is still necessary to proceed slowly—listen to these words in a time like this—with new naval construction. "To proceed slowly," when the Government must know that the Russians are building up a force of submarines which they believe will give them the opportunity of starving the people of these islands, of destroying any prospects of munitions to Western Union, and in fact of completing their conquest of the world. And then to hear from the First Lord that we must "proceed slowly" in the building of new fast escort vessels! Was there ever such misuse of language?