School Building and Teacher Shortage

Part of the debate – in the House of Commons at 12:00 am on 26 March 1963.

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Photo of Mr George Thomas Mr George Thomas , Cardiff West 12:00, 26 March 1963

The Minister is getting worse and worse. What he is admitting is that he was kept fully informed of the seven months' negotiations and that it was only about the last meeting, when agreement was reached—he could not be told in advance what people were going to negotiate; not unless he is a dictator—that he did not know what happened. The Minister knew the results of that January meeting very quickly. He had them in his possession for many weeks, and what did he do?

I suggest to the House and to the Minister that he behaved in a thoroughly irresponsible manner by withholding his intention to reject the scales until after the special conference of the National Union of Teachers. He knew, the country knew, that this conference was to be held. It cost the union about £10,000 to call the conference at Croydon. It was a complete waste of time, because we were trying to get our members to ratify proposals that were non-existent. But Sir Ronald Gould and the Executive of the National Union of Teachers had never an inkling from the Minister, not a hint, that he would reject the proposals. He let them go ahead, and two or three days after the conference he dropped his bombshell. How does the right hon. Gentleman expect to have the good will of the teaching profession when he works with honourable people in this way?

Yesterday, the right hon. Gentleman submitted his proposals to the Burnham Committee. I hasten to tell him that I have been informed within the last hour that the National Association of Schoolmasters has published the details of the statement that he made. I have heard—and I invite the Minister to his feet on this—that it is the Minister's intention to publish them tomorrow.