HC Deb 31 March 1938 vol 333 cc2245-6

6.22 p.m.

Mr. Stanley

I beg to move, in page 46, line 19, to leave out "a member, or."

This and the next Amendment, which go together, deal with a point which was raised in Committee by, I think, the hon. Member for Normanton (Mr. T. Smith). As the Bill stands now it would be impossible for someone who was an officer or servant or even a member of either of the organisations of the employers or of the workpeople in the coal-mining industry, to be made a member of the Commission. In Committee the hon. Member for Normanton moved an Amendment to delete that provision, and arguments were put forward to show that it was unfair to deprive someone who was to be made a member of this Commission of the membership of his trade union. The ground upon which I resisted the Amendment at the time was that I was, and still am, extremely anxious that there should be no suspicion whatever that any member of the Commission is biased in one direction or the other. It seemed to me important not only that the member should not be biased—and I assume that any individual who was chosen for this Commission would, in fact, be quite unprejudiced—but that nobody should be able to think or suspect that he was. For that reason I felt myself unable to accept the Amendment, and I am sorry to say that a daily newspaper afterwards referred to me as "painfully obstinate." It was not painful to me.

During the Debate I said that I recognise the case that was made by several hon. Members opposite with regard to what I might call the ancillary part of trade unionism—the membership of benefit societies, and so on—and I promised to see whether it would be possible to devise an Amendment to meet that point. On looking into the matter, however, I found that it was impossible to devise any such Amendment, and, therefore, it seemed to me that the only fair thing I could do, in view of what I had said, was to delete the provision altogether, and make it possible for a member either of a trade union or of the Mining Association to be a member of the Commission. I was encouraged to take that course because Members from all sides of the House said they would not regard with any suspicion the fact that a member of the Commission retained his membership either of one organisation or the other, and I am sure that I can rely upon it, if the case ever did arise, that they would be the first to make it plain that suspicions of that kind were unworthy and should not be entertained.

Amendment agreed to.

Further Amendment made: In page 46, line 22, at the end, insert: For the purposes of this paragraph membership of such an organisation as aforesaid shall not of itself be treated as constituting a direct connection with the coal-mining industry."—[Mr. Stanley.]