Miss Elaine Burton: I certainly wish to be fair, but I believe that the quotations are a condemnation of the principle which I am discussing. We now come to the question of the legal angle. During this week-end, when I realised that I would try to catch your eye today, Sir Charles, I read through the speeches made in Thursday's Debate. Although the House is always very lenient, I wondered whether I would dare...
Miss Elaine Burton: And the hon. Member is always indignant.
Miss Elaine Burton: I will not argue that one. Before today's Debate I went into the Library and looked through "The Times" of that period. "The Times" is not a Labour paper, and I do not think hon. Gentlemen would ever say it was. "The Times" leader of 19th April, recognises that retrospective legislation for this particular method of tax avoidance was inevitable. The actual words were: … which, though...
Miss Elaine Burton: Of 19th April, 1950.
Miss Elaine Burton: Though the hon. and learned Gentleman is "learned" I can read too, and the phrase that I read out comes in this leader. It is a condemnation of these two particular covenants. The hon. Member for Oxford said he could not see any difference between Lord, Black and Sir Leslie Plummer. I can see a great difference between Lord, Black and Sir Leslie Plummer. [Laughter.] I hope hon. Gentlemen...
Miss Elaine Burton: I represent one of the greatest motoring cities in the country. I might perhaps be accused of bias if I said it was the greatest motoring city; but I think that hon. Members on both sides of the House would agree that it is one of the greatest in this country. It might therefore be assumed that I was taking my political life in my hands in coming here today to speak against the immediate...
Miss Elaine Burton: It probably escaped the Opposition—and if it did not, it makes the position even worse so far as they are concerned—that at that moment in Washington we were engaged in very delicate negotiations concerning the number of dollars, we were spending on petrol and oil consumption. It was more than we could afford and we felt it had to be cut. Presumably hon. Members opposite do read the...
Miss Elaine Burton: With all due respect to the right hon. Gentleman, I should like to say that, at the time, it seemed to me utter and complete nonsense, but I did not know that I should have the chance of saying so in this House.
Miss Elaine Burton: I thought I should not get away with that, Mr. Deputy-Speaker. Before the war Conservative Governments did nothing at all to encourage the refining of oil in Britain. They left the refineries to be built in foreign territories. That is not party propaganda. That is an honest-to-goodness fact. It is the Labour Government who have encouraged the home refinery programme and given it high...
Miss Elaine Burton: Differently from my hon. Friend the Member for Wolverhampton, North-East (Mr. Baird), I probably speak for most hon. Members of this House irrespective of party in that I speak from the consumer end of the dentist's drill.
Miss Elaine Burton: No, Sir.
Miss Elaine Burton: May I thank you, Sir, and the House for the courtesy shown to a very ignorant new Member. I speak from the consumer end of the drill, rather differently from my hon. Friend the Member for Wolverhampton, North-East. I do not support his Prayer, but I think he has a case when he speaks about the cutting of all dentists' earnings. I am in the fortunate position of having a dentist who gives...
Miss Elaine Burton: asked the Minister of Health if he is now in a position to announce the decision of the Industrial Court on the salaries of midwives and health visitors referred to the court for arbitration and discussed on 24th April last.
Miss Elaine Burton: In the short time available to me today I want to develop a point made by the right hon. Member for Saffron Walden (Mr. R. A. Butler) last week when he spoke about fundamentals. The right hon. Gentleman said: The duty of the Opposition, as we see it, is to awaken our country's attention to the fundamentals of our economic and financial position."—[OFFICIAL REPORT. 19th April, 1950; Vol....
Miss Elaine Burton: Yes, I will come to that, and I would make this point in passing. I think that hon. Members opposite, when they are talking about Government expenditure, quite overlook the fact that in Debate in this House in 1948 it was stated that the administrative costs of the National Health Services were 2.3 per cent. of the whole, and when that is compared with private industry or insurance, which...
Miss Elaine Burton: It is obvious to me, as a very new Member of this House, bearing in mind the happenings of last week and the time at which this Adjournment Motion has been reached tonight, that anything can happen. When I came here today hon. Members much more senior than I greeted me with the cheerful news that the Adjournment might not be reached until about one or two o'clock tomorrow morning. I am glad...
Miss Elaine Burton: I think the Minister was under a delusion in regard to one matter. I was not talking about new rolling stock but of the stock which exists at present and on which I travel. There is room in the small compartments which are part of the dining cars to put up non-smoking labels. I have only asked for such accommodation as is possible. I am much concerned with the tea meal, and I have never seen...
Miss Elaine Burton: asked the President of the Board of Trade if he will now take steps to establish a consumer advice centre.
Miss Elaine Burton: May I thank the right hon. Gentleman for that answer, and say what satisfaction it will give both to housewives and to manufacturers of good goods.
Miss Elaine Burton: asked the Minister of Food if he is aware of the high price now being demanded for pepper; and whether he will now take steps to control it.
