HC Deb 28 February 1946 vol 419 cc2099-100
48. Mr. Piratin

asked the Prime Minister if he will ensure that in broadcasts on the London CountyCouncil elections, the precedents created at the General Election will be followed, namely, that in addition to time being allotted to the Labour Party and Conservative Party, time will also be allotted to the Communist Party.

The Prime Minister

The allocation of broadcasting time for this purpose is a matter for the B.B.C. I am informed by the B.B.C. that they would not have considered it suitable to extend facilities to the Communist Party without doing the same for others of the smaller parties, such as the Liberals and the People's Party. They considered that an allocation of two broadcasts, one for each of the two main parties concerned, was as much as their programme could reason- ably carry, since the London County Council elections are of direct concern only to their London listeners.

Mr. Piratin

Is the Prime Minister aware that when this step was taken in the first place at the General Election last July, arrangements were made for all contesting parties of a reasonable size to be able to broadcast to the nation at large? In this case, is it not a fact that the broadcast is being made for the London region? How, then, does the Prime Minister explain, in the absence of the appropriate Minister, the fact that there was discrimination against the Communist Party?

The Prime Minister

I have already explained that the Communist Party was put in with the Liberal Party and with this other party of which I had not heard—the People's Party. There was, therefore, no discrimination against the Communist Party as such.

Lieut.-Colonel Byers

Will the Prime Minister withdraw his remark in which he classed the Communist Party and the Liberal Party together, in view of the fact that the Liberal Party, fighting only half of the constituencies in the General Election, polled nearly 2½million votes?

The Prime Minister

Yes, Sir, but that is not quite relevant to the London County Council elections, in which they are contesting only six.

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