Mr Thomas Hubbard: It is not a fairy story.
Mr Thomas Hubbard: I have been hoping to have the pleasure of fallowing the hon. Member for Pollok (Mr. George), but the boot is usually on the other foot. Let me say at once that I could not agree with him more in the great and powerful speech which he has delivered tonight, a speech which many people will do well to read and to study.
Mr Thomas Hubbard: I do not want to enter into the political aspects of the matter, because in my view education is not a political matter. It is a matter of interest and concern to the whole country. It is true that in the past education has been a matter of politics, but not a political matter, and I think there is a fine distinction to be drawn between the two. I think that the hon. Member for Pollok has...
Mr Thomas Hubbard: Legislation which affects local authorities and their administration is always important, and in the past there has always been consultation with the local authorities and their elected members on such matters as these. I do not know who the members of the working party were. Are we not entitled to know who they were? Will the Secretary of State, before proceeding further, give us the names...
Mr Thomas Hubbard: I must say that I myself was worried about that figure last night, and I have since confirmed that it is wrong. I did, however, say that I based it on information given to me by the Burntisland Town Council. Nevertheless, the figures are wrong, and for that I apologise to the Government and to the hon. Member for Pollok (Mr. George), but at least it is well to think that we have been wrong...
Mr Thomas Hubbard: A total value of £180, but I say nothing more than that the Burntisland shipyard is still being relieved of rates to the extent of £3,800, which represents 1s. 5d. in the £ of the rates of a small burgh.
Mr Thomas Hubbard: There is little doubt that at the end of the debate the Bill will be given a Third Reading and be sent to another place, and to that extent the Government will have achieved something on which they have set their minds. Judging from the Secretary of State's closing words, one would have thought that he was presenting to the House and the country something for which they were hungry and of...
Mr Thomas Hubbard: I subject myself to your Ruling, Mr. Deputy-Speaker. I was attempting to give another illustration of how unfair the Government are in trying to get this Bill passed through the House. I was trying to show the injustice as regards some people in the country. I was trying to make the point that everybody in the country must make a joint effort to overcome our economic difficulties. Today, we...
Mr Thomas Hubbard: I am sure that it is not the first time that the hon. Member for Banff has done that, but whether he will go into the Lobby again against the Bill is another matter. We must wait and see what happens. It has been my good fortune to speak in his constituency. I bestowed some praise upon him, and I found that that was the only part of my speech which was reported in the Banffshire newspaper....
Mr Thomas Hubbard: The right hon. Gentleman has said that it is a right and proper thing for a local authority to make an assessment of its own need. Is he keeping in mind the fact that the vast majority of Scottish local authorities made an assessment of the Bill and turned it down?
Mr Thomas Hubbard: I have always had a great admiration for the hon. Member for Pollok (Mr. George). He can always successfully back all the horses, and it does not matter which way they run, backwards or forwards. He never gets a non-runner. He did the same thing tonight. He almost had me weeping for industry. However, we all know that industry has two sides, and the hon. Member ought not to forget that the...
Mr Thomas Hubbard: The hon. Member shakes his head. Is that wrong?
Mr Thomas Hubbard: Whatever is in the back of the hon. Member's mind, the fact is that industry has been derated since 1929. I will not deny that something had to be done to keep industry at work. One of the most stupid forms of economy is to pay people for being unemployed. That is the very worst way of spending money, and I should be the last to complain when derating is introduced to keep people in...
Mr Thomas Hubbard: I stand by the statement that I made. It was given to me by Burntisland Town Council. The council told me that four corporation tenants were paying more in rates than was the Burntisland shipyard. If the figures are wrong, I cannot help it; I have given the source from which I obtained them. They come from the collecting authority, Burntisland Town Council.
Mr Thomas Hubbard: Will the hon. Gentleman do me justice? I was not complaining about the rerating of industry to 50 per cent., but the failure of the Government to rerate it to 100 per cent.
Mr Thomas Hubbard: To follow the hon. Gentleman's argument, will he make clear to which companies he is referring?
Mr Thomas Hubbard: I do not intend at this stage to go into the whole detail of the Chancellor's Budget statement. It certainly requires a good deal of study. During the post-war years the country has felt the need of inspiration. Whatever way we look at today's Budget, nobody can describe it as inspiring. Indeed, nobody will be satisfied with it. At the present time, when there is already an increasing volume...
Mr Thomas Hubbard: The real value of wages is determined by what people can buy with them. It does not matter whether a worker takes home £5 or £10. The real value is in the amount of commodities that he can purchase. While it is true that the figure in terms of £ s. d. is higher, the purchasing power is no higher. Therefore, the workers are going back——
Mr Thomas Hubbard: If the hon. Member is referring to the availability of commodities, that may be true. When the Labour Government were in office, commodities were in short supply. Now they are in greater supply. It is, however, incorrect to say that in terms of purchasing power the worker is able to buy sufficient to live at a higher standard. One has only to inquire of the tradespeople in any town. The...
Mr Thomas Hubbard: The hon. Member shakes his head. It depends which way he looks at it. It must be remembered also that old-age pensioners have to budget and that the cost of living goes up for them, too, for the same reasons. If the price of coal goes up, the housewife has to pay more for it. If transport charges go up, she has to pay more for her goods because the increase is always passed on to the...