Debate on the Address

Part of the debate – in the House of Commons at 12:00 am on 1 November 1960.

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Photo of Mr Robert Woof Mr Robert Woof , Blaydon 12:00, 1 November 1960

The debate on the Gracious Speech ranges over a wide variety of subjects and enables hon. Members to raise topics in which they are especially interested. Topics of importance have been raised by hon. Members on both sides of the House, including the hon. Member for Lowestoft (Mr. Prior), who made an interesting speech about economy in taxation. I know that he will forgive me if I do not follow him. In my present state of mind I have been attracted by that part of the Gracious Speech which deals with the work of the United Nations and with disarmament.

One cannot discuss the United Nations and disarmament without fully taking into account the impact of the arms race. For more than twelve years talks on disarmament have been proceeding in the United Nations, but without positive results. There is some justification for saying that one could get a headache trying to keep account of all the difficulties, obstacles and barriers which have been raised in all the talks about disarmament at the United Nations. Such a series of failures without achieving great results cannot be ignored, but I believe the more that issues are discussed and ventilated with a view to reaching an effective solution to the problem of disarmament, the more will public opinion seek to avoid being drawn into international anarchy by the threat of a new war.

It is well recognised that the arms race and the constant development of new weapons of mass destruction are the principal factors contributing to present world tension. The problem of disarmament profoundly affects every individual, no matter where he lives. Such an unsatisfactory situation demands the elimination of the anxieties, doubts and mistrusts which bedevil mankind.

We are often told that a study of history is a study of causes and effects. Nothing happens without cause and nothing happens without leaving behind some results. For the first time in history we are placed in a situation in which the new revolution in military technical developments decisively affect world politics and the very existence of all of us.

It was with some interest that I noted the contents of a speech by Mr. Khrushchev, as reported in the Press of 20th October. In strong language, he referred to the decline of British imperialist power. With a diplomatic choice of words, at the Tory conference at Scarborough, the Prime Minister stated his reasons and willingness to attend a Summit Conference. However, in the broader terms of present-day decline and expansion, one has only to concentrate on the last five years or so to see the impact of the balance of power between the Soviet Union and the United States of America on world affairs, proving that both are now stronger than at any time in their history.

One has little difficulty in realising that the global distribution of American power is a product of the last war. The same applies to the expansion of the Soviet Union, but in the system of worldwide American bases can be seen a strategic military empire which is recognised as a permanent feature of American power geography. As I see it, it is the scientists who, in this fundamental transformation of the world situation, have presented the main source of military technical developments which are such a disturbing feature in our lives. So much is this the case that I sincerely believe that it is imperative to keep global communications reverberating for peace and to draw far-reaching conclusions from the consequences of the arms race.

It appears that when Mr. Khrushchev speaks he does so from a position of strength, backed by the production of rockets in the Soviet Union. I believe that not only in this country but in the United States there is evidence of the depressing anxiety felt by people who feel themselves vulnerable to the fantastic developments which have taken place recently.

We have heard a lot today about Polaris. If one takes stock of the arms race, one finds that it is visualised that by the 1970s a fleet of American nuclear-powered Polaris submarines will be capable of firing from under the water on to a predetermined target in the Soviet Union, and American experts are already computing the effect this will have on world strategy and the balance of power.

Long ago men dreamt of the conquest of space, and it is characteristic of our time that military factors have given impetus to the production of giant rockets. With the march of human intelligence it is largely military considerations which have caused the Soviet Union to speed up its scientific programme for the conquest of space. If and when the Soviet Union attains its objective, who can forecast what the balance of power will really be?

We learn that scientists are working on a type of bomb about which no one wants to talk. It is the so-called neutron bomb which, when perfected, would be able to send out streams of poisoned radiation greater than that produced by the hydrogen bomb, and which would leave industry and properties intact but would destroy the population.

All this makes it clear that the arms race is a race between scientists. The fear of mutual destruction compels us to consider such a fateful matter as disarmament when one realises the tempo at which the arms race has been rushed forward in so many different ways.

Once one accepts the difference in the structure of the military equipment of the power blocs, one must also accept the difficulties in coming to an agreement to carry out co-ordinated disarmament, and the difficulties of considering the factors which have to be taken into consideration to ensure that neither side feels at a disadvantage as a consequence.

As I have said, nothing is more clear than the warnings which the leaders of the Soviet Union have repeatedly given of the dangerous consequences of equipping the West German armed forces with atomic and nuclear weapons, by their sharp reminders that they, too, can use the same means of retaliation. It is not difficult to see the danger which would loom over Europe if we stepped up these military measures. I agree with Sir John Slessor, a former marshal of the Royal Air Force, in the opinion he expressed in the Observer of 19th July, 1959, when he said: I do not believe Germany can ever again be a military menace to her neighbours. Thinking Germans know very well that the only certain result of another great war would be that Germany would finish up as a radioactive charnel house. It would be a great mistake to assume that we, too, would not be affected. This thought gives neither comfort nor satisfaction to millions of British people. It is right and proper to bear in mind the nuclear capabilities portending so many uncertainties. To quote Sir John Slessor again, on page 308 of his book The Great Deterrent, he says: To some the rather unfortunate word 'tripwire' suggests that the function of General Norstad's forces is to provide a facade—a thin red line—to be overrun, so to speak, thus touching off the nuclear deluge upon Moscow. Stanlingrad and points East. This is a fantastic conception. … The true function of the N.A.T.O. screen is indeed primarily to avoid just that, to stand between the hydrogen bomb and the frontier policeman. To my way of reasoning the most serious aspect to which we should direct our attention is not the principal purpose of the policy of N.A.T.O. for collective security but the intention to supply Germany with nuclear missiles.

This decision creates a very sad outlook in these times. The most urgent problem today is the necessity to reduce the existing tension by resisting forcibly the idea of equipping the West German armed forces with nuclear weapons. The doctrine of massive retaliation which has been adopted means that the time has come to renounce the use of nuclear weapons against an attack with conventional forces. Once the button is pressed nuclear war can never be stopped because events would follow inevitably.

As a very high premium is placed upon aggression and surprise attack, I believe that the destruction of this country would be such that political freedom would cease to have any value. Everyone knows, or ought to know, what the consequences would be. We therefore have no doubt about exerting special efforts to restore our vision and moral purpose of life. War can only be excluded if disarmament is carried out under the strictest international control. Nothing should be beyond the competence and the material means of fulfilling the exact purpose of the United Nations to this end by accepting the basic principles of the United Nations to provide security from attack through the collective forces of the States.

I also sincerely believe that we should evaluate our thinking in terms of political necessity by accepting the provisions provided for in the United Nations and being prepared to act as a genuine force not only for the dissolution of the arms race and the ending of the cold war but as a means of strengthening the United Nations and as a medium whereby world disarmament and peaceful coexistence can and must be most readily achieved.