§ The Second Schedule to the principal Act (which provides for the rates and periods of unemployment benefit) shall have effect as if the words "after the first three days of unemployment" in paragraph 1 thereof were omitted.—[Mr. Thorne.]
§ Brought up, and read the First time.
§ Mr. THORNEI beg to move, "That the Clause be read a Second time."
In 1924 when the Labour Government were in office and a similar Measure to this was before the House of Commons, the then Minister of Labour abolished the waiting period with the result that great benefits were conferred especially on the distressed areas. I hope that those Members who represent distressed areas will support this New Clause. When a man or a woman becomes unemployed at present a waiting period of 1504 three days is necessary and in some cases it may be a fortnight or three weeks before such a person can get unemployment benefit. Each case has to go up to Kew and it may be two or three weeks before the case is dealt with by the authorities at Kew and the report upon it comes back to the manager of the local exchange. The result is that the people affected have to appeal to the public assistance committee. When the waiting period was abolished under the Labour Government it saved the ratepayers in West Ham something like £50,000, and I would remind hon. Members representing districts like Newcastle, Leeds, Manchester, Liverpool, Sheffield, and others areas, now known as distressed areas, that this Clause would be a great relief to the authorities in those areas, and would relieve the public assistance committees.
I do not think the Minister can claim that the fund is not in a position to stand this concession. The Minister the other day reported that there was a surplus of £6,000,000, and, according to the Chancellor of the Exchequer, when there is a live register of 2,500,000 the fund is a paying proposition. When the figure falls below that—and I understand that there is a big drop in the unemployment figures—to a figure of 2,200,000, we are told that there is going to be a saving of about £20,000,000 per annum. At present, the fund is saving about £12,000,000 to £14,000,000 per annum. What this concession would cost I am not in a position to say. I have not attempted to work out what it would mean financially, but I know that the fund would be able to stand this burden. There has been a great agitation on the part of those from the distressed areas and an attempt to impress upon the Chancellor the necessity for giving more relief. If that is the considered view of the representatives of those areas, I suggest that this new Clause provides one way of helping those districts.
§ 10.5 p.m.
§ Mr. E. WILLIAMSI wish to support the Clause. I think most hon. Members will agree that when the waiting period was originally introduced a provision of this kind was perhaps justifiable, but to-day you have such a large number of people who have been unemployed for a very long period that it is another question. 1505 It might have been argued justifiably that if persons were idle for a very short period, say, a few days, and then got back to regular employment, there was hardly a case for the application of unemployment benefit for such a short time, as it might give rise to very many administrative complications, but surely there can be no justification for such an argument to-day. It might also have been argued some time ago that it was impossible to meet a claim of this kind on financial grounds, but that can no longer be argued, because we have had it from the Chancellor of the Exchequer to-night and from the Minister himself that there is now a surplus in the fund.
Therefore, in view of the fact that we are now faced with a trade depression and that many persons have been idle for a great length of time, surely such persons should not be penalised by having to face oftentimes a second and a third waiting period. Then there is the very important point that has been made by my hon. Friend the Member for Plaistow (Mr. Thorne), because this question certainly does affect the distressed areas. In counties like Glamorganshire it means that a public assistance committee has been obliged to render aid to those persons for the few days that they have been obliged to wait, and that applies to all the other distressed areas as well. After the impressive speech made by my hon. Friend, we are hoping that the Minister will appreciate the reasons advanced in favour of the new Clause and will accept it.
§ 10.8 p.m.
§ Sir H. BETTERTONThis discussion is one that I have heard on many previous occasions in the last 10 years, and the Debate on every Unemployment Insurance Bill in which I have taken part has always contained an Amendment proposing that the waiting period should be either cut down or abolished. On every occasion, for one reason or another, those Amendments have been resisted.
§ Mr. THORNEIs it not a fact that in the Labour Government of 1924 the waiting period was abolished?
§ Mr. BUCHANANNo, it was reduced to three days.
§ Sir H. BETTERTONIt was not abolished; it was reduced to three days, as the hon. Member says. The waiting period of three days was originally provided in the original Act, namely, the Act of 1920, but except during the periods from 1920 to June, 1921, and from August, 1924, to September, 1926, the period which the hon. Gentleman has in mind, the waiting period has always been and still is six days. In this matter the various Governments have followed trade union practice. Some of them more generously than others, but all, so far as I know, provide for a waiting period, and although this matter was considered both by the Royal Commission and by the Blanesburgh Committee, both of them were in favour of a period of six days. As we know, this question of a waiting period has been modified from time to time and its application varied by an alteration of the continuity rule. That rule at the present time is that a waiting period is served only if the applicant's last period of continuous unemployment was 10 weeks or more ago.
I was asked what the cost of accepting this proposal would be to the fund. The cost would be about £3,500,000 a year. One hon. Member asked whether this is a matter that could be considered by the Statutory Committee. It is clearly a matter which is within the purview of the Statutory Committee. It is one of the things on which they can, if they choose, make recommendations, and I have no doubt that this is a question that they will consider, having regard to the resources at their disposal. In these circumstances I cannot accept the new Clause, but I would ask the Committee to rest assured that this question will no doubt be considered by the Statutory Committee.
§ 10.13 p.m.
§ Mr. BUCHANANThe Minister is correct in his historical survey. This or a similar Amendment was accepted in 1924 by Mr. Tom Shaw on the motion of one of the Liberals, seconded, I think, by one of the hon. Members for Birkenhead. Since then we have travelled, and the line of concession has been to extend the six days over four weeks, and then six weeks, and then ten weeks. I was going to ask if the Minister could not reconsider the matter, 1507 bearing in mind that, for good or ill, we have cut down our numbers considerably inside the insurance fold. We have about half the number of people covered by insurance, and consequently the cost that might have been put on a previous Ministry by such a Clause as this is not the cost that would be imposed under this Bill. Very often if a man falls out of work on a Friday or a Saturday the administrative arrangements are such that he gets only three days' benefit which has to keep him for three weeks until he can get a full week's benefit. It is true that in some cases the Poor Law steps in to help him over that period, but he is very often the type of man who is not accustomed to claiming Poor Law relief.
I have in mind men in the building trade in which they get jobs lasting for about three months, which is just over the period of ten weeks; they have periods of broken time, perhaps, owing to bad weather, and when they are dismissed they have to wait three weeks before they get a full week's unemployment benefit. That is a terrible hardship, and, in view of the fact that the Government have cut down the number of recipients of standard benefit, the Minister might well reconsider this matter. He stated that trade unions imposed a waiting period, but I disdain comparing a trade union with a State scheme. A good many unions have had to give up paying unemployment benefit at all. They cannot keep it going because they have not the resources that the State has. Those that have kept going have only done so because of exceptional circumstances, and it is not true to argue that they all impose a waiting period. Even if they did, it would have no point in this connection. The point is that to ask men who are unemployed after three months to wait with only about three days' money for three weeks is a terrible hardship. When I was younger a man who started work in an industry usually got a guaranteed spell of work. We looked upon starting in most of the engineering shops as starting for a reasonable spell. To-day industry has completely altered and men are now taken on for comparatively short periods.
If the Minister would even consider making the period longer than 10 weeks it would help. At least he ought to make 1508 it for the 26 weeks that is covered for benefit purposes. That would be a considerable help. The present practice falls particularly hard on extremely worthy people who do not want to ask for parish relief. I doubt very much if under the Schedule they will be entitled to draw Poor Law relief. They may come on for a claim under the Public Assistance Board, but I am not sure that even then we can conceive of the board paying if an Act of Parliament has laid it down that the applicants are not eligible for it. I trust that the Minister will reconsider this point, seeing that we are dealing with good insurance lives, and see if anything can be done to reduce the waiting period or to abolish it, or, if he cannot give way on that, to extend the 10 weeks' period. Nothing is harder or falls more cruelly on these people than this constantly-recurring waiting period.
§ 10.21 p.m.
§ Sir H. BETTERTONI hope hon. Members will not press this Clause. The cost of adopting this proposal has been estimated at £3,500,000. In the course of our discussions many suggestions have been put forward for relaxations on this point or that. Quite clearly the Statutory Committee cannot do more than the funds at their disposal permit, and if £3,500,000 is taken for this purpose so much less will be available for other purposes. The hon. Member for Gorbals (Mr. Buchanan) raised the question of the continuity rule and is urging me to extend the 10 weeks bridge to 26 weeks. That is a matter which can be considered by the Statutory Committee, and if they think there are sufficient funds at their disposal they can consider the continuity rule as well as the waiting period. I think this Committee would be doing a real disservice if they took it out of the power of the Statutory Committee, for all practical purposes, to consider both the continuity rule and the waiting period at the same time. The two matters are so intimately bound up that I think the Statutory Committee ought to have a free hand to consider both of them in the light of the resources at their disposal.
§ Question put, "That the Clause be read a Second time."
§ The Committee divided: Ayes, 60; Noes, 252.
1489| Division No. 201.] | AYES. | [8.59 p.m. |
| Adams, D. M. (Poplar. South) | Batey, Joseph | Buchanan, George. |
| Allen, William (Stoke-on-Trent) | Bevan, Aneurin (Ebbw Vale) | Cocks, Frederick Seymour |
| Attlee, Clement Richard | Brown, C. W. E. (Notts., Mansfield) | Cove, William G. |
| Daggar, George | John, William | Parkinson, John Allen |
| Davies, David L. (Pontypridd) | Jones, J. J. (West Ham, Silvertown) | Pickering, Ernest H. |
| Davies, Rhys John (Westhoughton) | Kirkwood, David | Rathbone, Eleanor |
| Dobble, William | Lawson, John James | Rea, Walter Russell |
| Edwards, Charles | Leonard, William | Sinclair, Maj. Rt. Hn. Sir A.(C'thness) |
| Evans, David Owen (Cardigan) | Llewellyn-Jones, Frederick | Smith, Tom (Normanton) |
| George, Major G. Lloyd (Pembroke) | Logan, David Gilbert | Thorne, William James |
| George, Megan A. Lloyd (Anglesea) | Lunn, William | Tinker, John Joseph |
| Graham, D. M. (Lanark, Hamilton) | McEntee, Valentine L. | White, Henry Graham |
| Greenwood, Rt. Hon. Arthur | Maclean, Neil (Glasgow, Govan) | Williams, Edward John (Ogmore) |
| Grundy, Thomas W. | Mallalieu, Edward Lancelot | Williams, Dr. John H. (Llanelly) |
| Hamilton, Sir R.W.(Orkney & Zetl'nd) | Mander, Geoffrey le M. | Wood, sir Murdoch McKenzie (Banff) |
| Harris, Sir Percy | Maxton, James | Young, Ernest J. (Middlesbrough, E.) |
| Hicks, Ernest George | Milner, Major James | TELLERS FOR THE AYES.— |
| Jenkins, Sir William | Paling, Wilfred | Mr. G. Macdonald and Mr. Groves. |
| NOES. | ||
| Acland-Troyte, Lieut.-Colonel | Gault, Lieut.-Col. A. Hamilton | Martin, Thomas B. |
| Agnew, Lieut.-Com. P. G. | Glossop, C. W. H. | Mason, Col. Glyn K. (Croydon, N.) |
| Anstruther-Gray, W. J. | Gluckstein, Louis Halle | Mayhew, Lieut.-Colonel John |
| Apsley, Lord | Gower, Sir Robert | Meller, Sir Richard James |
| Astor, Viscountess (Plymouth, Sutton) | Graham, Sir F. Fergus (C'mb'rPd. N.) | Mills, Sir Frederick (Leyton, E.) |
| Atholl, Duchess of | Greene, William P. C. | Mills, Major J. D. (New Forest) |
| Baille, Sir Adrian W. M. | Grenfell, E. C. (City of London) | Milne, Charles |
| Baldwin-Webb, Colonel J. | Grimston, R. V. | Mitcheson, G. G. |
| Balfour, Capt. Harold (I. of Thanet) | Gritten, W. G. Howard | Melson, A. Hugh Elsdale |
| Balniel, Lord | Gunston, Captain D. W. | Monsell, Rt. Hon. Sir B. Eyres |
| Barclay-Harvey, C. M. | Guy, J. C. Morrison | Moreing, Adrian C. |
| Beauchamp, Sir Brograve Campbell | Hacking, Rt. Hon. Douglas H. | Morris, John Patrick (Salford, N.) |
| Beaumont, Hon. R.E.B. (Portsm'th.C.) | Hales, Harold K. | Morris, Owen Temple (Cardiff, E.) |
| Belt, Sir Alfred L. | Hammersley, Samuel S. | Morrison, William Shepherd |
| Betterton, Rt. Hon. Sir Henry B. | Hannon, Patrick Joseph Henry | Muirhead, Lieut.-Colonel A. J. |
| Borodale, Viscount | Harvey, George (Lambeth, Kenningt'n) | Munro, Patrick |
| Bowater, Col. Sir T. Vansittart | Haslam, Henry (Horncastle) | Nicholson, Godfrey (Morpeth) |
| Bowyer, Capt. Sir George E. W. | Haslam, Sir John (Bolton) | Nunn, William |
| Braithwaite, J. G. (Hillsborough) | Headlam, Lieut.-Col. Cuthbert M. | O'Donovan, Dr. William James |
| Brass, Captain Sir William | Hellgers, Captain F. F. A. | Peake, Captain Osbert |
| Broadbent, Colonel John | Heneage, Lieut.-Colonel Arthur P. | Peat, Charles U. |
| Brown, Col. D. C. (N'th'l'd., Hexham) | Hepworth, Joseph | Penny, Sir George |
| Brown, Brig.-Gen.H.C.(Berks.,Newb'y) | Hills, Major Rt. Hon. John Waller | Perkins, Walter R. D. |
| Buchan-Hepburn, P. G. T. | Holdsworth, Herbert | Petherick, M. |
| Burghley, Lord | Hornby, Frank | Pike, Cecil F. |
| Burgin, Dr. Edward Leslie | Horsbrugh, Florence | Powell, Lieut.-Col. Evelyn G. H. |
| Burnett, John George | Hudson, Capt. A. U. M.(Hackney, N.) | Pownall, Sir Assheton |
| Butt, Sir Alfred | Hudson, Robert Spear (Southport) | Procter, Major Henry Adam |
| Caporn, Arthur Cecil | Hume, Sir George Hopwood | Raikes, Henry V. A. M. |
| Carver, Major William H. | Hunter, Capt. M. J. (Brigg) | Ramsay, Capt. A. H. M. (Midlothian) |
| Chamberlain, Rt. Hon. N. (Edgbaston) | Hunter-Weston, Lt.-Gen. Sir Aylmer | Ramsay, T. B. W. (Western Isles) |
| Chapman, Col. R.(Houghton-le-Spring) | Jackson, Sir Henry (Wandsworth, C.) | Rankin, Robert |
| Chapman, Sir Samuel (Edinburgh, S.) | James, Wing.-Com. A. W. H. | Rawson, Sir Cooper |
| Chorlton, Alan Ernest Leotric | Jesson, Major Thomas E. | Reid, David D. (County Down) |
| Cochrane, Commander Hon. A. D. | Joel, Dudley J. Barnato | Reid, James S. C. (Stirling) |
| Colville, Lieut.-Colonel J. | Jones, Sir G. W. H. (Stoke New'gton) | Reid, William Allan (Derby) |
| Conant, R. J. E. | Jones, Henry Haydn (Merioneth) | Remer, John R. |
| Craddock, Sir Reginald Henry | Jones, Lewis (Swansea, West) | Rhys, Hon. Charles Arthur U. |
| Cranborne, Viscount | Kerr, Lieut.-Col. Charles Montrose) | Roberts, Aied (Wrexham) |
| Crooke, J. Smedley | Latham, Sir Herbert Paul | Roberts, Sir Samuel (Ecciesall) |
| Crookshank, Col. C. de Windt (Bootle) | Law Sir Alfred | Ropner, Colonel L. |
| Crookshank, Capt. H. C. (Galnsb'ro) | Leckie, J. A. | Rosbotham, Sir Thomas |
| Croom-Johnson, R. P. | Leighton, Major B. E. P. | Ross, Ronald D. |
| Cross, R.H | ||
| Crossley, A. C. | Lennox-Boyd, A. T. | Ross Taylor, Walter (Woodbridge) |
| Cruddas, Lieut.-Colonel Bernard | Lewis, Oswald | Runge, Norah Cecil |
| Culverwell, Cyril Tom | Liddall, Walter S. | Russell, Albert (Kirkcaldy) |
| Davies, Maj. Geo. F.(Somerset, Yeovil) | Lindsay, Kenneth (Kilmarnock) | Russell, Alexander West (Tynemouth) |
| Dickie, John P. | Lindsay, Noel Ker | Rutherford, Sir John Hugo (Liverp'l) |
| Dower, Captain A. V. G. | Little, Graham-, Sir Ernest | Salt, Edward W. |
| Drewe, Cedric | Llewellin, Major John J. | Samuel, Samuel (W'dsworth, Putney) |
| Duckworth, George A. V. | Lloyd, Geoffrey | Sandeman, Sir A. N. Stewart |
| Dugdale, Captain Thomas Lionel | Lockwood, John C. (Hackney, C.) | Savery, Samuel Servington |
| Duggan, Hubert John | Loftus, Pierce C. | Scone, Lord |
| Duncan, James A. L. (Kensington, N | Lovat-Fraser, James Alexander | Selley, Harry R. |
| Dunglass, Lord | Lumley, Captain Lawrence R. | Shakespeare, Geoffrey H. |
| Elmley, Viscount | Lyons, Abraham Montagu | Shaw, Helen B. (Lanark, Bothwell) |
| Emrys-Evans, P. V. | MacAndrew, Lieut.-Col. C. G.(Partick) | Shaw, Captain William T. (Fortar) |
| Erskine, Lord (Weston-super-Mare) | MacAndrew, Capt. J. O. (Ayr) | Shepperson, Sir Ernest W. |
| Erskine-Bolst, Capt. C. C. (Blk'pool) | McKie, John Hamilton | Skelton, Archibald Noel |
| Foot, Dingle (Dundee) | Maclay, Hon. Joseph Paton | Smiles, Lieut.-Col. Sir Waller D. |
| Ford, Sir Patrick J. | McLean, Major Sir Alan | Somerset, Thomas |
| Fox, Sir Gifford | McLean, Dr. W. H. (Tradeston) | Somervell, Sir Donald |
| Fremantle, Sir Francis | Macquisten, Frederick Alexander | Somerville, Annesley A. (Windsor) |
| Fuller, Captain A. G. | Maitland, Adam | Somerville, D. G. (Willesden, East) |
| Ganzonl, Sir John | Manningham-Buller, Lt.-Col. Sir M. | Soper, Richard |
| Margesson, Capt. Rt. Hon. H. D. R. | Southby, Commander Archibald R. J. | |
| Spender-Clay, Rt. Hon. Herbert H. | Tufnell, Lieut.-Commander R. L. | Willoughby de Eresby, Lord |
| Spent, William Patrick | Turton, Robert Hugh | Wilson, Lt.-Col. Sir Arnold (Hertl'd) |
| Stanley, Rt. Hon. Lord (Fylde) | Wallace, John (Dunfermline) | Wilson, Clyde T. (West Toxteth) |
| Stevenson, James | Ward, Lt.-Col. Sir A. L. (Hull) | Wilton, G. H. A. (Cambridge U.) |
| Storey, Samuel | Warrender, Sir Victor A. G. | Windsor-Clive, Lieut.-Colonel George |
| Stourton, Hon. John J. | Waterhouse, Captain Charles | Winterton, Rt. Hon. Earl |
| Strauss, Edward A. | Watt, Captain George Steven H. | Wise, Alfred R. |
| Strickland, Captain W. F. | Wedderburn, Henry James Scrymgeour. | Withers, Sir John James |
| Tate, Mavis Constance | wells, Sidney Richard | Worthington, Dr. John V. |
| Thompson, Sir Luke | Weymouth, Viscount | Young, Rt. Hon. Sir Hilton (S'v'noaks) |
| Thomson, Sir Frederick Charles | Whiteside, Borras Noel H. | |
| Thorp, Linton Theodore | Whyte, Jardine Bell | TELLERS FOR THE NOES.— |
| Todd, A. L. S. (Kingswinford) | Williams, Herbert G. (Croydon, S.) | Mr. Womersley and Dr. Morris-Jones. |
| Division No. 202.] | AYES. | [10.23 p.m. |
| Adams, D. M. (Poplar, South) | Groves, Thomas E. | Milner, Major James |
| Attlee, Clement Richard | Grundy, Thomas W. | Paling, Wilfred |
| Batey, Joseph | Hamilton, Sir R.W.(Orkney & Z'tl'nd) | Parkinson, John Allen |
| Bevan, Aneurin (Ebbw Vale) | Harris, Sir Percy | Pickering, Ernest H. |
| Brown, C. W. E. (Notts., Mansfield) | Hicks, Ernest George | Rea, Walter Russell |
| Buchanan, George | Holdsworth, Herbert | Roberts, Aied (Wrexham) |
| Cocks, Frederick Seymour | Janner, Barnett | Rothschild, James A. de |
| Cove, William G. | Jenkins, Sir William | Sinclair, Maj. Rt. Hn. Sir A.(C'thness) |
| Cripps, Sir Stafford | Johnstone, Harcourt (S. Shields) | Smith, Tom (Normanton) |
| Daggar, George | Jones, Henry Haydn (Merioneth) | Thorne, William James |
| Davies, David L. (Pontypridd) | Kirkwood, David | Tinker, John Joseph |
| Davies, Rhys John (Westhoughton) | Lawson, John James | White, Henry Graham |
| Dobble, William | Leonard, William | Williams, David (Swansea, East) |
| Edwards, Charles | Logan, David Gilbert | Williams, Edward John (Ogmore) |
| Evans, David Owen (Cardigan) | Lunn, William | Williams, Dr. John H. (Llanelly) |
| Evans, R. T. (Carmarthen) | Macdonald, Gordon (Ince) | Wilmot, John |
| Foot, Dingle (Dundee) | McEntee, Valentine L. | Wood, Sir Murdoch McKenzie (Banff) |
| George, Major G. Lloyd (Pembroke) | Maclean, Neil (Glasgow, Govan) | Young, Ernest J. (Middlesbrough, E.) |
| George, Megan A. Lloyd (Anglesea) | Mallalieu, Edward Lancelot | |
| Greenwood, Rt. Hon. Arthur | Mander, Geoffrey le M. | TELLERS FOR THE AYES.— |
| Grenfell, David Rees (Glamorgan) | Maxton, James | Mr. John and Mr. D. Graham. |
| NOES. | ||
| Acland-Troyte, Lieut.-Colonel | Dickie, John P. | Leckie, J. A. |
| Agnew, Lieut.-Com. P. G. | Dower, Captain A. V. G. | Leighton, Major B. E. P. |
| Albery, Irving James | Duckworth, George A. V. | Lennox-Boyd, A. T. |
| Applin, Lieut.-Col. Reginald V. K. | Dugdale, Captain Thomas Lionel | Lewis, Oswald |
| Apsley, Lord | Duggan, Hubert John | Liddall, Walter S. |
| Astor, Maj. Hn. John J. (Kent, Dover) | Duncan, James A. L. (Kensington, N.) | Lindsay, Kenneth (Kilmarnock) |
| Astor, Viscountess (Plymouth, Sutton) | Dunglass, Lord | Lindsay, Noel Ker |
| Atholl, Duchess of | Eastwood, John Francis | Llewellin, Major John J. |
| Ballie, Sir Adrian W. M. | Elmley, Viscount | Lloyd, Geoffrey |
| Baldwin, Rt. Hon. Stanley | Emmott, Charles E. G. C. | Locker-Lampson, Rt. Hn. G. (Wd. G'n) |
| Baldwin-Webb, Colonel J. | Entwistle, Cyril Fullard | Lockwood, John C. (Hackney, C.) |
| Balfour, Capt. Harold (I. of Thanet) | Erskine, Lord (Weston-super-Mare) | Loder, Captain J. de Vere |
| Balniel, Lord | Erskine-Bolst, Capt. C. C. (Blk'pooll | Loftus, Pierce C. |
| Barclay-Harvey, C. M. | Fox, Sir Gilford | Lovat-Fraser, James Alexander |
| Barrie, Sir Charles Coupar | Fremantle, Sir Francis | Lumley, Captain Lawrence R. |
| Beauchamp, Sir Brograve Campbell | Fuller, Captain A. G. | Lyons, Abraham Montagu |
| Beaumont, Hon. R.E.B. (Portsm'th,C.) | Ganzonl, Sir John | Mabane, William |
| Belt, Sir Alfred L. | Gault, Lieut.-Col. A. Hamilton | MacAndrew, Lieut.-Col. C. G.(Partick) |
| Bernays, Robert | Gillett, Sir George Masterman | McCorquodale, M. S. |
| Betterton, Rt. Hon. Sir Henry B. | Gilmour, Lt.-Col. Rt. Hon. Sir John | McKie, John Hamilton |
| Bower, Lieut.-Com. Robert Tatton | Gluckstein, Louis Halle | McLean, Major Sir Alan |
| Bowyer, Capt. Sir George E. W. | Gower, Sir Robert | McLean, Dr. W. H. (Tradeston) |
| Boyce, H. Leslie | Greene, William P. C. | Macquisten, Frederick Alexander |
| Boyd-Carpenter, Sir Archibald | Grimston, R. V. | Maitland, Adam |
| Bracken, Brendan | Gritten, W. G. Howard | Manningham-Buller, Lt.-Col. Sir M. |
| Braithwaite, J. G. (Hillsborough) | Guinness, Thomas L. E. B. | Margesson, Capt. Rt. Hon. H. D. R. |
| Broadbent, Colonel John | Gunston, Captain D. W. | Martin, Thomas B. |
| Brocklebank, C. E. R. | Guy, J. C. Morrison | Mason, Col. Glyn K. (Croydon, N.) |
| Brown, Col. D. C. (N'th'l'd., Hexham) | Hacking, Rt. Hon. Douglas H. | Mayhew, Lieut.-Colonel John |
| Brown, Brig.-Gen. H.C. (Berks., Newb'y) | Hales, Harold K. | Meller, Sir Richard James |
| Buchan, John | Hammersley, Samuel S. | Mills, Sir Frederick (Leyton, E.) |
| Buchan-Hepburn, P. G. T. | Hannon, Patrick Joseph Henry | Mills, Major J. D. (New Forest) |
| Bullock, Captain Malcolm | Harvey, George (Lambeth, Kenn'gt'n) | Milne, Charles |
| Burghley, Lord | Haslam, Henry (Horncastle) | Mitcheson, G. G. |
| Burgin, Dr. Edward Leslie | Haslam, Sir John (Bolton) | Molson, A. Hugh Elsdale |
| Burnett, John George | Headlam, Lieut.-Col. Cuthbert M. | Monsell, Rt. Hon. Sir B. Eyres |
| Butt, Sir Alfred | Hellgers, Captain F. F. A. | Moreing, Adrian C. |
| Caporn, Arthur Cecil | Heneage, Lieut.-Colonel Arthur P. | Morris, Owen Temple (Cardiff, E.) |
| Carver, Major William H. | Hepworth, Joseph | Morris-Jones, Dr. J. H. (Denbigh) |
| Cayzer, Maj. Sir H. R. (Prtsmth., S.) | Hills, Major Rt. Hon. John Waller | Morrison, William Shepherd |
| Cazalet, Thelma (Islington, E.) | Hornby, Frank | Muirhead, Lieut.-Colonel A. J. |
| Chamberlain, Rt. Hon. N. (Edgbaston) | Horsbrugh, Florence | Munro, Patrick |
| Chapman, Col. R. (Houghton-le-Spring) | Howard, Tom Forrest | Nunn, William |
| Chorlton, Alan Ernest Leofric | Howitt, Dr. Alfred B. | O'Donovan, Dr. William James |
| Cochrane, Commander Hon. A. D. | Hudson, Capt. A. U. M. (Hackney, N.) | Patrick, Colin M. |
| Conant, R. J. E. | Hudson, Robert Spear (Southport) | Peake, Captain Osbert |
| Copeland, Ida | Hume, Sir George Hopwood | Peat, Charles U. |
| Courthope, Colonel Sir George L. | Hunter, Dr. Joseph (Dumfries) | Percy, Lord Eustace |
| Craddock, Sir Reginald Henry | Hunter, Capt. M. J. (Brigg) | Perkins, Walter R. D. |
| Cranborne, Viscount | Hunter-Weston, Lt.-Gen. Sir Aylmer | Petherick, M. |
| Crooke, J. Smedley | Jackson, Sir Henry (Wandsworth, C.) | Peto, Geoffrey K.(W'verh'pt'n,Bilston) |
| Crookshank, Col. C. de Windt (Bootle) | James, Wing.-Com. A. W. H. | Pike, Cecil F. |
| Crookshank, Capt. H. C. (Gainsb'ro) | Jesson, Major Thomas E. | Powell, Lieut.-Col. Evelyn G. H. |
| Croom-Johnson, R. P. | Joel, Dudley J. Barnato | Pownall, Sir Assheton |
| Cross, R. H. | Jones, Sir G. W. H. (Stoke New'gton) | Procter, Major Henry Adam |
| Crossley, A. C. | Jones, Lewis (Swansea, West) | Pybus, Sir Percy John |
| Cruddas, Lieut.-Colonel Bernard | Kerr, Lieut.-Col. Charles (Montrese) | Raikes, Henry V. A. M. |
| Culverwell, Cyril Tom | Latham, Sir Herbert Paul | Ramsay, Capt. A. H. M. (Midlothian) |
| Davies, Maj. Geo. F.(Somerset,Yeovll) | Law Sir Alfred | Ramsay, T. B. W. (Western Isles) |
| Ramsbotham, Herwald | Simmonds, Oliver Edwin | Wallace, Captain D. E. (Hornsey) |
| Rankin, Robert | Skelton, Archibald Noel | Wallace, John (Dunfermilne) |
| Rawson, Sir Cooper | Smiles, Lieut.-Col. Sir Walter D. | Ward, Lt.-Col. Sir A. L. (Hull) |
| Reid, David D. (County Down) | Somerset, Thomas | Ward, Sarah Adelaide (Cannock) |
| Reid, James S. C. (Stirling) | Somervell, Sir Donald | Warrender, Sir Victor A. G. |
| Reid, William Allan (Derby) | Somerville, Annesley A. (Windsor) | Waterhouse, Captain Charles |
| Remer, John R. | Somerville, D. G. (Willesden, East) | Watt, Captain George Steven H. |
| Rhys, Hon. Charles Arthur U. | soper, Richard | Wedderburn, Henry James Scrymgeour. |
| Roberts, Sir Samuel (Ecclesall) | Spears, Brigadier-General Edward L. | Wells, Sidney Richard |
| Ropner, Colonel L. | Spens, William Patrick | Weymouth, Viscount |
| Rosbotham, Sir Thomas | Stanley, Rt. Hon. Lord (Fylde) | Whiteside, Borras Noel H. |
| Ross, Ronald D. | Stanley, Hon. O. F. G. (Westmorland) | Whyte, Jardine Bell |
| Ross Taylor, Walter (Woodbridge) | Stevenson, James | Williams, Herbert G. (Croydon, S.) |
| Runge, Norah Cecil | Storey, Samuel | Willoughby de Eresby, Lord |
| Russell, Albert (Kirkcaldy) | Stourton, Hon. John J. | Wills, Wilfrld D. |
| Russell, Alexander West (Tynemouth) | Strickland, Captain W. F. | Wilson, Clyde T. (West Toxteth) |
| Russell, Hamer Field (Shef'ld, B'tslde) | Sugden, Sir Wilfrid Hart | Wilson, G. H. A. (Cambridge U.) |
| Rutherford, Sir John Hugo (Liverp'l) | Summersby, Charles H. | Windsor-Clive, Lieut.-Colonel George |
| Salt, Edward W. | Tate, Mavis Constance | Winterton, Rt. Hon. Earl |
| Samuel, Samuel (W'dsworth, Putney) | Thomson, Sir Frederick Charles | Wise, Alfred R. |
| Sandeman, Sir A. N. Stewart | Thorp, Linton Theodora | Womersley, Walter James |
| Savery, Samuel Servington | Todd, A. L. S. (Kingswinford) | Worthington, Dr. John V. |
| Scone, Lord | Touche, Gordon Cosmo | Young, Rt. Hon. Sir Hilton (S'v'neaks) |
| Selley, Harry R. | Train, John | |
| Shaw, Captain William T. (Forfar) | Tufnell, Lieut.-Commander R. L. | TELLERS FOR THE NOES— |
| Shepperson, Sir Ernest W. | Turton, Robert Hugh | Sir George Penny and Commander Southby. |