Richard Thomas and Baldwins, Limited

Part of Civil Estimates and Estimates for Revenue Departments, 1960–61. – in the House of Commons at 12:00 am on 27 June 1960.

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Photo of Mr John Jones Mr John Jones , Rotherham 12:00, 27 June 1960

The hon. Member gave sound advice to people prepared to invest in something which has proved to be a national asset.

I want to come to the simple issue. My hon. Friend the Member for Ogmore (Mr. Padley) has spoken about it. He recalled that when he was a boy he saw the rolling downs under which was the God-given iron ore. I was born in my constituency and I saw the miners going to work to hew from the bowels of the earth God-given coal given for the benefit of mankind. In Derbyshire, I saw hills from which the limestone comes. The coal, the iron and the limestone are, we are told, all things given by a munificent Almighty for the benefit of man. It never occurred to me, as a child, that the benefit of all this would go to a particular man, or section, or party, or gang on the Stock Exchange. I was led to believe that The earth is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof;—. and they that dwell therein. Who are to get the benefits of the results of the labours of men and management in the steel industry, which is still under public ownership? That is the issue today. The results of the work of men and management of Richard Thomas and Baldwins—their sweat and toil, thinking and planning, and managerial efficiency—must be directed either into the pockets of the relatively few or into the pockets of the State. The hon. Member for Weston-super-Mare (Mr. Webster) told us that it was a tremendous advantage that the National Union of Mineworkers, the Prudential Assurance Society and the Co-operative Insurance Society should have money invested. If it is good enough for 250,000 investors, why is it not good for the nation? If it is good for the few, it cannot be wrong for the many. The Government always give away their own case. They want to decide where the line of demarcation shall be.

Years ago, when I was on the Government Front bench, I remember being told by that wonderful old statesman the right hon. Gentleman the Member for Woodford (Sir W. Churchill) that if we dared to touch the steel industry it would be a flop. Since then, however, we have heard of nothing but the success story of the industry generally and of the amount of expansion which is still required. Why is this expansion still required all these years after the war?