LABOUR PROGRAMME FOR BRITAIN

Press, Volume LXXXI, Issue 24632, 31 July 1945, Page 5

LABOUR PROGRAMME FOR BRITAIN

“Housing Put Before Nationalisation” REPORTED DECISION ON IMMEDIATE AIMS ;N.Z. Press, Association—Copyright) (Rec. 5 p.m.) LONDON, July 30. “The new British. Government believes there must be peace and contentment at home before more sweeping plans for Socialism are attempted,” says the “Daily Express” political correspondent. “They ai;e therefore putting housing before nationalisation, and have already decided oh five priorities: “(1) Winning the war against Japan. “(2) An intensive housing campaign. “(3) Speeding up demobilisation to make manpower available for reconstruction. “ (4) Building up production for home as well as overseas markets. “ (5) Social insurance and nationalisation of key industries. “Mr Attlee, Mr Morrison, and other Labour leaders support this plan, for which they are prepared to fight should other over-eager party members object to the order of priorities.

"Mr Arthur Greenwood who, as Lord Privy Seal, will have supreme charge of housing problems, will begin a housing drive immediately. After arranging supplies of timber and other materials he will be confronted with the problem of labour which is required to restore normal peace-time production. "These urgent needs indicate A speeding up of demobilisation. The new service Ministers will be instructed that every man who Is not fully employed in the forces shall be released for civil employment." "Mr Bevin's tenure as Foreign Secretary may be only temporary," says the political correspondent of the "Dailv Mail." "He is still intent on being Chancellor of the Exchequer, because it is an important post in the development and expansion on Socialist lines of industry and finance. "Mr Bevin'may remain Foreign Secretary during the period of international • negotiations for settlements in Europe and the preparations for the peace conference which is to follow the meeting of the Big Three at Potsdam. \ "The Labour Government's programme for the next session of Parliament includes the introduction of an interim Budget containing a modification, if not the total abolition of, the excess profits tax, together with a reduction or modification of direct income tax. lifting- some of the war burden from the-middle classes and simultaneously helping industry." HOUSING PROJECT FOR BRITAIN BIG UNDERTAKING BY NUFFIELD CONCERN (Rec. 7 p.m.) LONDON, July 28. "The Nuffield organisation's war workers are switching over immediately to the production of components for steel-framed two-storey houses," says the "Daily Mail." "The houses will be fireproof and soundproof and will contain all modern work-saving devices. .... ."The magnitude of the undertaking may be Judged from the financial turn- . over of this Nuffield venture, whieh will be about £2,000,000 a month.' The vice-chairman of Morris Motors ■ (Sir Miles Thomas) said: "Work on the changeover is already well in hand, We hope shortly to produce frames, components, and parts for 800 to 800 houses a week." GREEK MINISTERS CONFER EFFECTS OF BRITISH ELECTION LONDON, July 80. "The Greek Prime Minister (Admiral Voulgaris) conferred with a number of members of his Government on the situation arising from the British election," reports the Exchange Telegraph Agency's Athens correspondent. "The Regent (Archbishop Damaskinos) earlier received the British charge d'affaires. "The former Foreign Minister, Mr Softanopoulos, who has approached Right Wing groups with a view to forming a Government, has been refused support." The Greek Minister of Information (Mr Zakyntinos) disclosed in Athens that Admiral Voulgaris, after the resignation of Mr Sofianopoulos from the Foreign Ministry, last Monday, visited the Regent and told him that all the members of the Voulgaris Government were ready to withdraw when the Regent might think reasons of State required .the formation of some other Government. Mr Zakyntinos denied a report that the Voulgaris Government had resigned. GREEK GUARDS FIRE ON PRISONERS ALLEGED ATTEMPT TO ESCAPE (Rec. 7 p.m. LONDON, July 29. "Three political prisoners were wounded, one of them seriously, when. guards nred at windows of the Zalocostas prison in Athens." reports Reuter's correspondent in Athens. "It is stated, after a preliminary inquiry, '•' that the prisoners, mostly ELAS supporters, were trying to break windows to escape. The prisoners stated that they had asked for the windows to be opened because of the great heat "One of the wounded men is a gendarmerie captain, who was charged with deserting his post because he refused service under the Quisling administration during the German occupation, and joined tht resistance forces in the mountains." HITLER'S INJURIES IN BOMB ATTACK "SENSE OF BALANCE DESTROYED" (Rec. 10 p.m.) LONDON, July 28. Professor Carl von Eicken, Germany's leading nose and throat specialist, who saved Hitler's voice in 1935, told a "Daily Express" correspondent in Berlin that after the bomb attempt on bis life in July, 1944, Hitler walked like a drunken man. The bomb blast perforated Hitler's "eardrums and injured the inner ear, thus destroying his sense of balance which, in addition to the nervous shock, created giddiness. Someone had to support Hitler every time he went out. Otherwise he would have fallen. After the attack he was afraid to go out by day. Professor von Eicken operated On Hitler in 1935 and removed a polyp from a vocal chord.