Last-Ditch Fight Over Britain’s Transport Nationalisation Bill

Greymouth Evening Star, 25 July 1947, Page 7

Last-Ditch Fight Over Britain’s Transport Nationalisation Bill

(Recd. 11.15 a.m.) LONDON, July 24. - The clocks were striking 11 o’clock this morning when weary, dishevelled members of the Commons left the House after sitting continuously for 20 hours 20 minutes in an allnight debate of the Government’s Transport Bill. The House had risen at 10.50 a.m. after a session which was just 57 minutes short of the record for this Parliament. The Conservative members fought a bitter last-ditch battle in support of the changes made by their majority in the House of Lords to the Bill which nationalises Britain’s road haulage, railway and canal systems. The Minister of Transport, Mr. A. Barnes, as the final Lords amendment was defeated, said smiling broadly: “The Bill has now drawn peacefully Io its close.”

There were about 400 members of the House about at breakfast-time, but the number had dwindled to 100 by the end of the debate. Everybody seemed to be in good humour and Mr Barnes received a round of cheers as he left the chamber. The debate began yesterday afternoon, when Mr Barnes announced that there were 242 amendments. There were 10 major issues, involving 42 amendments on which • the Government would ask the House to disagree with the House of Lords. He would advise the acceptance of the other 200 amendments, representing drafting changes, points of agreement, or points on which he had given pledges.

Amendment Rejected

Important Lords amendments rejected were those imposing limitations on the Minister’s powers of direction, limitations on the Minister’s power to appoint executives, doubling from 40 to 80 miles the distance defined as long-distance road haulage and amendments to the procedure for inquiries. There were several noisy scenes. One occurred when Mr Heniy Strauss (Conservative) accused the Government of giving itself powers

of political patronage in the appointment of executives. There was an uproar when on another occasion Mr E. 11. LeggeBourke was understood to accuse the Government of “being drunk.” The uproar subsided when it was explained that he had been interrupted in saying that they were drunk “with power.” Opposition Scottish members, who wanted a separate transport board for Scotland, said that Scotland suffered from the “overlordship of London.” “Dog-Barking Noises” The debate on the Transport Bill concluded at 10.19 a.m. and the remainder of the time was spent in listening to the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, Mr John Hynd, urging the Home ' Secretary, Mr Chuter Ede,' to lift the ban on midweek dog-racing—to the accompaniment of dog-barking noises from another Commoner. The Commons met again at 12.30 p.m. The Evening News political correspondent expects the Lords will give way on the Transport Bill amendments, thus making the nationalisation of transport effective next year.