Orders of the Day — Leasehold Enfranchisement Bill

Part of the debate – in the House of Commons at 12:00 am on 18 March 1955.

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Photo of Mr William Aitken Mr William Aitken , Bury St Edmunds 12:00, 18 March 1955

I intend to intervene only briefly in this debate, as this problem has been thrashed out pretty thoroughly over the past few years. The hon. Member for Cardiff, West (Mr. G. Thomas) spoke with great sincerity, and I felt that his references to the debate on the Leasehold Property (Temporary Provisions) Act, 1951, were almost in the nature of an apology to Western Ground Rents for his past inaccuracies.

I have a dual personal interest in the hon. Gentleman's references, and he has referred to both of them. He blamed the "Daily Express" for the inaccuracy of his information. It would be a happy thing if I could say that in 1938 when the story was published about the transaction to which he referred the "Daily Express" was the only newspaper which had that story at that time. But exactly the same story was in the "Daily Herald" the "Daily Mail," the "Daily Telegraph," the "News Chronicle" and other newspapers.

I have a very clear recollection of the announcement in the Press. The only major inaccuracy in the statement—and it appeared in all the newspapers—concerned the number of houses actually taken over by Western Ground Rents. Anybody who knows anything about newspapers will have appreciated quite clearlythat that story was obtained from a news agency. It was obviously based on some investigations by an agency or an individual journalist in Cardiff and sent out to all the newspapers

That was the only major inaccuracy in the story. I suppose it is only natural that the hon. Gentleman should blame the biggest and best edited newspaper, and the one which is extremely well informed on Socialist affairs in the House, for all his inaccurate statements. I accept that human frailty, and I am glad to assume that in 1938 the "Daily Express" was the only newspaper the hon. Gentleman was in the habit of reading.