HC Deb 27 November 1947 vol 444 cc2097-8
15. Brigadier Rayner

asked the Minister of Fuel and Power whether saved-up petrol may be used on Christmas day, in order that families and friends may get together and share a better Christmas dinner near a more cheerful fire than would be possible for them separately.

Mr. Gaitskell

I regret that I cannot add to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Kingston-upon-Thames (Mr. Boyd-Carpenter) on 13th November.

Brigadier Rayner

But is it, then, really a fact that the Minister of Fuel cannot produce even a small ration of the Christmas spirit?

Mr. Gaitskell

No, Sir, but I think many families in the country will manage to get on at Christmas without this particular form of spirit.

Mrs. Leah Manning

In view of the fact that the Minister has just said that the cut in the basic ration was to save dollars, and since this petrol is already bought and so the question of dollars does not arise, would he not look into this again to see whether he cannot be a little more generous? It is a very small thing to ask.

Mr. Gaitskell

I regret that I cannot agree to my hon. Friend's request. I have considered this matter most carefully, and I am afraid that we really must enforce this very unpleasant change now.

Mr. Keeling

Does the right hon. Gentleman not realise that the Minister has had offered to him on a plate by both my hon. Friends jointly a means of restoring what was shown last night to be the waning popularity of the Government?

Mr. James Glanville

May I ask the Minister whether, from the wording of this Question, it is a fact that, in order that families and friends may get together and share a better Christmas dinner near a more cheerful fire, they are going to use the petrol to burn on the fire?