Orders of the Day — Far Eastern Situation

Part of the debate – in the House of Commons at 12:00 am on 5 February 1953.

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Photo of Mr Desmond Donnelly Mr Desmond Donnelly , Pembrokeshire 12:00, 5 February 1953

The Under-Secretary shakes his head, but I would ask him to reconsider this matter because it is extremely important.

Thirdly—and this is really the crux of the thing—I would repeat again the question of my hon. Friend the Member for Ashton (Mr. Wyatt) as to what will happen if Chiang Kai-shek first of all finds himself in a losing war in Formosa and then the Americans get themselves involved. My right hon. Friend the Member for Lewisham, South (Mr. H. Morrison) said he believed he spoke for the British people when we said that we were not prepared to support Chiang Kai-shek in such a situation.

I believe my right hon. Friend did speak for the British nation, and I warn the Under-Secretary of State and hon. Gentlemen opposite that when they get the views of their constituents they may find a rude awakening in store for them. I am a great believer in the week-end. Let hon. Members opposite have a word with the local stationmaster when they are visiting their constituencies this week-end and see what he is thinking about. What happens in that position, I tell the Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, is the crux of this matter.

Having said that, I apologise to the House for having spoken for so long. Let me say one final, personal word in conclusion. I think it is important, and that I am entitled to make this personal explanation. I see, at the end of this present road, a steadily steepening slope, nothing but war in the situation as it is now. I see also the destruction of all the heritages of freedom and the rich treasures of the past that we have accumulated in this land. I am not one to shrink from the supreme sacrifice if this island were ever threatened. I have just the same passionate love for Britain as anybody else has, whether it is for the grey stone of Cotswold villages like Burford with the mill garden at the bottom of the hill or for the colour- washed cottages of my own county in Wales. They are just as dear to me now as the Marlborough downs were to Hilton Young.

Nevertheless, if we are to do the best by the people of our own country we have to exercise a sense of responsibility. Let us defend our country with all our might against anybody who dares to set an unwanted and unwelcome foot on this island, but at the same time let us exercise a sense of responsibility. We have to think not only of the immediate situation but of the situation in the world in 20 or 30 years. We are going to be darned lucky to stay alive for that period.