§ 3.42 p.m.
§ Mr. Geoffrey de Freitas (Lincoln)I beg to move,
That leave be given to bring in a Bill to ensure that at least two out of three Members of the Cabinet shall be Members of the Commons House of Parliament.
§ Mr. J. Enoch Powell (Wolverhampton, South-West)May I put to you, Mr. Speaker, a point of order of which I gave you notice earlier, and of which I have given notice to the hon. Gentleman the Member for Lincoln (Mr. de Freitas); namely, that it is out of order for the House to proceed further upon this Motion until Her Majesty's consent to the proceedings has been signified to the House by a Privy Councillor?
I respectfully base this submission upon two considerations, which I will put to you as briefly as I can. First, that this Bill, on the face of it, trenches upon the exercise of the Royal Prerogative, and, second, that this is the appropriate occasion upon which Her Majesty's consent should be signified.
As to the first point, the selection of the Ministers and advisers of the Crown is, beyond doubt or dispute, a matter of the Royal Prerogative, and any Bill which seeks to ensure that the advisers of the Crown shall be selected from a specific range of persons is, upon the face of it, a limitation of that Prerogative.
I am aware that there have been Acts of Parliament, namely, the Re-election of Ministers Act, 1919, and the Ministers of the Crown Act, 1937, which have made certain enactments regarding Ministers of the Crown sitting in this House, but I submit to you, Sir, that these Acts, to which the consent of the Crown was not signified, differ toto cælo from the Bill to introduce which leave is now sought, in that they deal with disqualifications from sitting in this House.
The qualification to sit in this House has always been a matter within the jurisdiction of this House, and not a matter of the Royal Prerogative. On the other hand, the selection of Ministers of the Crown is a matter which cannot be regulated by this House unless Her Majesty's Prerogative is placed at our disposal for the purpose.
1674 I have not overlooked the fact that the Bill relates to Cabinet Ministers, and not to Ministers as such. Nevertheless, I do not believe that my point is thereby invalidated. The Cabinet is an unofficial Committee of the Privy Council, and to say that such-and-such persons shall be Cabinet Ministers is to say that Her Majesty shall summon such-and-such persons to advise her and not such-and-such other persons. Upon the face of it, this is a matter which concerns the Royal Prerogative.
Now, as to the question whether consent should be signified at this stage, the House will be aware that the Royal consent is given from time to time at all stages of Bills, right from leave being, given to bring in a Bill up to the Third Reading. Quite evidently, where the Royal Prerogative is only incidentally affected, it is convenient that the consent should be signified at a later stage. Let me bring to your attention, however, Mr. Speaker, the statement of Erskine May on this subject:
But if the matters affecting the Royal interests form the main or a very important part of a Bill, it would be courting waste of time, if the permission of the Crown to proceed with the Bill were not ascertained at the outset. In such cases, accordingly, the communication from the Queen is signified at the beginning of the earliest stage of the debate.This, Sir, is the earliest stage of the debate upon this Bill, and I therefore submit that it would be out of order for the House to proceed further until Her Majesty's consent to our proceedings has been duly signified.
§ Mr. SpeakerThe hon. Member was good enough to give me notice that he wanted to raise this point of order, and I have given careful consideration to the matters which he has put before me.
I am satisfied that the precedents of modern practice do not require the Queen's consent to be signified to the provisions of the proposed Bill. These provisions are of a type which has not, by practice, required a Prerogative consent. Several Acts, some of which have been mentioned by the hon. Member, such as the Re-election of Ministers Act, 1919, and the Ministers of the Crown Act, 1937, have laid it down that not more than a certain number of Ministers of the Crown shall sit in the House of Commons. To none of these was the Royal consent given at any stage.
1675 This Bill proposes that at least two out of three Members of the Cabinet must be Members of this House. In my opinion, after careful consideration, the proposal that a certain proportion of the Cabinet must sit in this House does not need the Queen's consent any more than a proposal that not more than a certain number of Ministers may sit in this House. It is true, as the hon. Member points out, that the Acts in the former group had the effect of relaxing an existing disqualification, whereas the proposed Bill imposes a disqualification which is new, but I do not think that that affects the decision.
§ Mr. de FreitasAs has been pointed out, the Prime Minister of the day is not free to choose his Government as he likes, and the composition of the Government is regulated by certain Acts, especially the Ministers of the Crown Act, 1937.
In moving the Second Reading of the Ministers of the Crown Bill, the then Home Secretary, Sir John Simon, as he then was, referred to one of its provisions in these words, and I quote:
… Parliament this year, for the first time, takes upon itself to define what a Cabinet Minister is.It is because this Bill defined a Cabinet Minister that my Bill is so short. Later in his speech, Lord Simon, as he now is, referred to the provisions as to the offices which must be held by peers, and asked the House of Commons to support them in these words:The House of Lords should have its fair allowance of Ministers."—[OFFICIAL REPORT, 12th April, 1937; Vol. 322, c. 645–52.]Lord Simon was pleading, somewhat in advance of his time, for fair shares—fair shares for peers. The House listened to his plea, found it just and agreed to tie the hands of Prime Ministers by providing, for example, that in future peers must hold at least three out of 17 named Ministerial offices, and at least two out of 23 named junior Ministerial offices.So it can be seen that my proposal today follows from the precedent set in 1937 and is, in fact, far less restrictive than the proposals of Lord Simon and accepted by the House at that time. I shall not imitate Lord Simon and propose elaborate restrictions on the Prime Minister's freedom of choice. I have avoided 1676 that because I think that to construct a Government must be difficult enough without having to abide by statutory provisions that a certain number of certain Ministerial offices must be held by a peer or by a Member of the Commons. I do not want to make it any more difficult for a Prime Minister in sorting out the wealth of talent available to him. As hon. Members know my Bill is carefully drafted not to take effect until the next Parliament.
Instead of Lord Simon's elaborate restrictions I prefer a simple method of ensuring fair shares by laying down this proportion of two-thirds. In 1937, when the Ministers of the Crown Bill was considered, it was never thought it would ever be necessary to legislate to ensure a fair share of Members of the Commons. That was before "Operation Overlord," as it has been called, and before the age of noble co-ordination and before men like the Lord President of the Council co-ordinated the search for meat, among other things. I am sorry that the Prime Minister has just left the Chamber. His emphasis on the peerage in matters of Government may explain the mystery of the missing meat. Might there not be a secret order from the Prime Minister that he will not consider anything less than a baron of beef?
One of the characteristics of our system of parliamentary government is that the leading members of the administration are also members of the legislature and pass much of their lives in this House together with men and women who are elected to Parliament. I submit that it weakens our parliamentary democracy to have in a Cabinet too many men who know nothing of the atmosphere of the House of Commons of the day—whether in the Chamber or in the Tea Room or in the Lobby. Further, it could be really dangerous to have too many men in the Cabinet who have never served as members of an elected political body where men and women learn to live on equal terms and in friendship with political opponents. My Bill is to prevent any Prime Minister in the future subordinating parliamentary democracy to the rule of appointed peers.
Since I gave notice of my intention to seek to introduce this Bill I have had helpful suggestions from all parts of the House. I have met hostility only from 1677 hon. Members who fear that this Bill would strengthen, by implication, the constitutional position of the present House of Lords and thus of the peers by inheritance. These hon. Members maintain that they are against the hereditary principle and they claim that it is no answer to that point when it is argued that peers by inheritance, whether of the second or twenty-second generation seldom attend the House of Lords and figure less in HANSARD than in "The Tatler."
But I remind these hon. Members that times have changed since the present Prime Minister called for battle to be joined against aristocratic rule, as he did in 1910. That is not the battle today. That is why I am asking that this Bill be considered rather as a protection of parliamentary democracy in the future not against aristocratic rule but against the appointed peers of this so-called "managerial revolution." In effect, my Bill merely seeks to amend the 1937 Act to ensure that two-thirds of the Cabinet are men and women elected to Parliament. Lord Simon said of the 1937 Bill that it gave a deeper foundation to the essentials of our British system and I hope that the House will agree that those words are even more appropriate when applied to my modest Bill.
§ 3.57 p.m.
§ Sir Herbert Williams (Croydon, East)I am sorry to disappoint the hon. Member for Lincoln (Mr. de Freitas), but I am not very much impressed by his Bill. When I saw the notice on the Order Paper, I speculated on its purpose and I have only discovered it from the hon. Member's speech. He does not like the fact that the Prime Minister, in forming the Government, decided to have a certain number of people, not too preoccupied with Departmental duties to have supervisory control over groups of Departments.
Going back to 1918, hon. Members might care to peruse Cd. 9230, commonly known as "The Machinery of Government Committee" presided over by Lord Haldane who, of course, was the first Lord Chancellor of a Socialist Government. He was assisted by Mr. E. S. Montague, a Liberal M.P., Sir Robert Morant, a most outstanding civil servant, Sir George Murray, Sir Alan Sykes, a Conservative M.P., Mr. J. H. Thomas, an outstanding leader of the 1678 Labour Party, and Mrs. Sidney Webb. They expressed the view that these co-ordinating Ministers were a good idea and it is rather a pity that the hon. Member for Lincoln did not read other things in the Library besides the Statute to which he referred.
I am only doing this in the hon. Member's own interest. I am looking forward to the time when the successor to the right hon. Gentleman the Member for Ebbw Vale (Mr. Bevan) is forming a new Government, about 15 years from now, by which time no doubt the hon. Member for Lincoln will be in another place. It might lead to some disappointment for him, because the then Prime Minister would say that the T.U.C. barons must have their share in the Cabinet. There would also be Co-op barons and he would add, "I am sorry, but the Haileybury School tie does not work any more." It will be a most unhappy time for the hon. Member.
I have been trying to do a little arithmetic. Once a month, or thereabouts, a document is available in the Vote Office which includes a list of all Government Ministers and officials of the House. It is very interesting. I tried to count how many there were now in the Cabinet, and I counted 18. For some peculiar reason, although the Prime Minister holds two jobs he is scheduled as only one person. The Home Secretary holds two jobs, but is down in the list as only one. The name of the Marquess of Salisbury, who holds two jobs, is repeated and that is why the Cabinet appears to be 18. Out of 17 now in the Cabinet six are in the House of Lords and only one of those six is a hereditary peer—Lord Salisbury—who used to sit in this House. All the others are number one of their generation, which rather upsets the hon. Member's argument.
If the Bill becomes law, the problem is quite easy of solution. The Prime Minister will look round the House. His eye might fall on my hon. Friend the Member for Edinburgh, South (Sir W. Darling) or it might even fall on me, and he has only to promote one of us and the problem is solved. This Bill is silly in saying to the Prime Minister that he will be debarred from the choice of certain people whom he thinks are really fitted for the job.
I know it was done in the days of Queen Anne, which the hon. Member 1679 loves and adores, but in her day things were different because she had courage. She said, "La Reine s'avisera" and turned down the Scottish Militia Bill, for example. That method is now rather out of date. Charles II had a very much better method of dealing with Bills of this kind before they became Acts, because when the Bill proved awkward he just shoved it under the table. But that method is also out of date. I do not see why one should circumscribe the choice of the Prime Minister in his attempt, in peace-time, to give effect to the recommendations
§ of the Haldane Committee. I think it is absolutely wrong that the Prime Minister should be denied the opportunity of giving effect to something recommended by the first Socialist Lord Chancellor, though I cannot tell from outside how it is working.
§ Question put, pursuant to Standing Order No. 12 (Motions for leave to bring in Bills and Nomination of Select Committees at commencement of Public Business).
§ The House divided: Ayes, 208; Noes, 246.
1683| Division No. 59.] | AYES | [4.0 p.m. |
| Anderson, Alexander (Motherwell) | Freeman, Peter (Newport) | MacPherson, Malcolm (Stirling) |
| Attlee, Rt. Hon. C. R. | Gaitskell, Rt. Hon. H. T. N. | Mainwaring, W. H. |
| Awbery, S. S. | Gibson, C. W. | Mallalieu, E. L. (Brigg) |
| Ayles, W. H. | Glanville, James | Mallalieu, J. P. W. (Huddersfield, E.) |
| Bacon, Miss Alice | Gordon Walker, Rt. Hon. P. C. | Mann, Mrs. Jean |
| Balfour, A. | Gooch, E. G. | Manuel, A. C. |
| Bence, C. R. | Greenwood, Anthony (Rossendale) | Marquand, Rt. Hon. H. A. |
| Benn, Wedgwood | Greenwood, Rt. Hon. Arthur (Wakefield) | Mayhew, C. P. |
| Benson, G. | Grenfell, Rt. Hon. D. R. | Mikarde, Ian |
| Beswick, F. | Grey, C. F. | Mitchison, G. R. |
| Bing, G. H. C. | Griffiths, David (Rother Valley) | Moody, A. S. |
| Blackburn, F. | Griffiths, Rt. Hon. James (Llanelly) | Morley, R. |
| Blenkinsop, A. | Grimond, J. | Morris, Percy (Swansea, W.) |
| Blyton, W. R. | Hale, Leslie (Oldham, W.) | Morrison, Rt. Hon. H. (Lewisham, S.) |
| Boardman, H. | Hall, Rt. Hon. Glenvil (Colne Valley) | Mort, D. L. |
| Bottomley, Rt. Hon. A. G. | Hall, John (Gateshead, W.) | Moyle, A. |
| Bowden, H. W. | Hamilton, W. W. | Mulley, F. W. |
| Brockway, A. F. | Hannan, W. | Murray, J. D. |
| Brook, Dryden (Halifax) | Hardy, E. A. | Nally, W. |
| Brown, Rt. Hon. George (Belper) | Hargreaves, A. | Neal, Harold (Bolsover) |
| Brown, Thomas (Ince) | Harrison, J. (Nottingham, E.) | Noel-Baker, Rt. Hon. P. J. |
| Burke, W. A. | Hastings, S. | Oliver, G. H. |
| Burton, Miss F. E. | Hayman, F. H. | Oswald, T. |
| Callaghan, L. J. | Healey, Denis (Leeds, S. E.) | Paget, R. T. |
| Carmichael, J. | Healy, Cahir (Fermanagh) | Paling, Rt. Hon. W. (Dearne Valley) |
| Castle, Mrs. B. A. | Henderson, Rt. Hon. A. (Rowley Regis) | Paling, Will T. (Dewsbury) |
| Champion, A. J. | Herbison, Miss M. | Pannell, Charles |
| Chapman, W. D. | Hobson, C. R. | Pargiter, G. A. |
| Chetwynd, G. R. | Holman, P. | Parker, J. |
| Clunie, J. | Holmes, Horace (Hemsworth) | Paton, J. |
| Cooks, F. S. | Holt, A. F. | Pearson, A. |
| Coldrick, W. | Houghton, Douglas | Peart, T. F. |
| Collick, P. H. | Hoy, J. H. | Plummer, Sir Leslie |
| Cook, T. F. | Hudson, James (Ealing, N.) | Popplewell, E. |
| Cove, W. G. | Hughes, Hector (Aberdeen, N.) | Porter, G. |
| Craddock, George (Bradford, S.) | Hynd, H. (Accrington) | Price, Joseph T. (Westhoughton) |
| Crossman, R. H. S. | Hynd, J. B. (Attercliffe) | Price, Philips (Gloucestershire, W.) |
| Cullen, Mrs. A. | Irvine, A. J. (Edge Hill) | Proctor, W. T. |
| Dalton, Rt. Hon. H. | Isaacs, Rt. Hon. G. A. | Pryde, D. J. |
| Darling, George (Hillsborough) | Janner, B. | Rankin, John |
| Davies, A. Edward (Stoke, N.) | Jay, Rt. Hon. D. P. T. | Reeves, J. |
| Davies, Ernest (Enfield, E.) | Jeger, George (Goole) | Reid, William (Camlachie) |
| Davies, Stephen (Merthyr) | Johnston, Douglas (Paisley) | Rhodes, H. |
| de Freitas, Geoffrey | Jones, David (Hartlepool) | Robens, Rt. Hon. A. |
| Dodds, N. N. | Jones, T. W. (Merioneth) | Roberts, Goronwy (Caernarvonshire) |
| Driberg, T. E. N. | Keenan, W. | Rogers, George (Kensington, N.) |
| Ede, Rt. Hon. J. C. | Key, Rt. Hon. C. W. | Ross, William |
| Edelman, M. | King, Dr. H. M. | Royle, C. |
| Edwards, John (Brighouse) | Kinley, J. | Shackleton, E. A. A. |
| Edwards, Rt. Hon. Ness (Caerphilly) | Lewis, Arthur | Shinwell, Rt. Hon. E. |
| Evans, Albert (Islington, S. W.) | Lindgren, G. S. | Short, E. W. |
| Evans, Edward (Lowestoft) | Lipton, Lt.-Col. M. | Shurmer, P. L. E. |
| Ewart, R. | Logan, D. G. | Silverman Julius (Erdington) |
| Fernyhough, E. | MacColl, J. E. | Slater, J. |
| Flenburgh, W. | McGhee, H. G. | Smith, Norman (Nottingham, S.) |
| Finch, H. J. | McGovern, J. | Sorensen, R. W. |
| Fletcher, Eric (Islington, E.) | McInnes, J. | Soskice, Rt. Hon. Sir Frank |
| Follick, M. | McKay, John (Wallsend) | Sparks, J. A. |
| Foot, M. M. | McLeavy, F. | Steele, T. |
| Fraser, Thomas (Hamilton) | MacMillan, M. K. (Western Isles) | Strachey, Rt. Hon. J. |
| Stross, Dr. Barnett | Watkins, T. E. | Williams, Ronald (Wigan) |
| Summerskill, Rt. Hon. E. | Wells, Percy (Faversham) | Williams, Rt. Hon. Thomas (Don V'll'y) |
| Sylvester, G. O. | West, D. G. | Williams, W. R. (Droylsden) |
| Taylor, Bernard (Mansfield) | Wheatley, Rt. Hon. John | Winterbottom, Richard (Brightside) |
| Taylor, Rt. Hon. Robert (Morpeth) | White, Mrs. Eirene (E. Flint) | Woodburn, Rt. Hon. A. |
| Thomas, David (Aberdare) | Whiteley, Rt. Hon. W. | Wyatt, W. L. |
| Thomas, Ivor Owen (Wrekin) | Wigg, G. E. C. | Yates, V. F. |
| Timmons, J. | Wilkins, W. A. | |
| Viant, S. P. | Willey, Frederick (Sunderland, N.) | TELLERS FOR THE AYES: |
| Wallace, H. W. | Willey, Octavius (Cleveland) | Mr. Simmons and |
| Mr. R. J. Taylor. | ||
| NOES | ||
| Aitken, W. T. | Eden, Rt. Hon. A. | Lyttelton, Rt. Hon. O. |
| Allan, R. A. (Paddington, S.) | Elliott, Rt. Hon. W. E. | McAdden, S. J. |
| Alport, C. J. M. | Erroll, F. J. | McCallum, Major D. |
| Amery, Julian (Preston, N.) | Fell, A. | Macdonald, Sir Peter (I. of Wight) |
| Anstruther-Gray, Major W. J. | Finley, Graeme | Mackeson, Brig. H. R. |
| Arbuthnot, John | Fisher, Nigel | McKie, J. H. (Galloway) |
| Ashton, H. (Chelmsford) | Fleetwood-Hesketh, R. F. | Maclean, Fitzroy |
| Assheton, Rt. Hon. R. (Blackburn, W.) | Fletcher, Walter (Bury) | MacLeod, Iain (Enfield, W.) |
| Astor, Hon. J. J. (Plymouth, Sutton) | Fletcher-Cooke, C. | MacLeod, John (Ross and Cromarty) |
| Baker, P. A. D. | Fort, R. | Macmillan, Rt. Hon. Harold (Bromley) |
| Baldwin, A. E. | Foster, John | Macpherson, Maj. Niall (Dumfries) |
| Baldock, Lt.-Cmdr. J. M. | Fraser, Hon. Hugh (Stone) | Maitland, Comdr. J. F. W. (Horncastle) |
| Banks, Col. C. | Fraser, Sir Ian (Morecambe & Lonsdale) | Maitland, Patrick (Lanark) |
| Barber, A. P. L. | Gage, C. H. | Manningham-Buller, Sir R. E. |
| Barlow, Sir John | Galbraith, Cmdr. T. D. (Pollok) | Markham, Major S. F. |
| Baxter, A. B. | Galbraith, T. G. D. (Hillhead) | Marlowe, A. A. H. |
| Beach, Maj. Hicks | Garner-Evans, E. H. | Maydon, Lt.-Cmdr. S. L. C. |
| Beamish, Maj. Tufton | Glyn, Sir Ralph | Monckton, Rt. Hon. Sir Walter |
| Bell, Philip (Bolton, E.) | Gomme-Duncan, Col. A. | Morrison, John (Salisbury) |
| Bell, Ronald (Bucks, S.) | Gower, H. R. | Mott-Radclyffe, C. E. |
| Bennett, F. M. (Reading, N.) | Graham, Sir Fergus | Nicholls, Harmar |
| Bennett, Dr. Reginald (Gosport) | Gridley, Sir Arnold | Nicholson, Godfrey (Farnham) |
| Bennett, William (Woodside) | Grimston, Hon. John (St. Albans) | Nicolson, Nigel (Bournemouth, E.) |
| Bevins, J. R. (Toxteth) | Harden, J. R. E. | Nield, Basil (Chester) |
| Birch, Nigel | Harris, Frederic (Croydon, N.) | Noble, Cmdr. A. H. P. |
| Bishop, F. P. | Harris, Reader (Heston) | Nugent, G. R. H. |
| Black, C. W. | Harrison, Col. J. H. (Eye) | Nutting, Anthony |
| Boothby, R. J. G. | Harvey, Air Cdre. A. V. (Macclesfield) | Oakshott, H. D. |
| Bossom, A. C. | Harvey, Ian (Harrow, E.) | O'Neill, Rt. Hon. Sir H. (Antrim, N.) |
| Boyd-Carpenter, J. A. | Harvie-Watt, Sir George | Ormsby-Gore, Hon. W. D. |
| Boyle, Sir Edward | Hay, John | Orr, Capt. L. P. S. |
| Brains, B. R. | Heald, Sir Lionel | Orr-Ewing, Ian L. (Weston-super-Mare) |
| Braithwaite, Sir Albert (Harrow, W.) | Heath, Edward | Partridge, E. |
| Braithwaite, Lt.-Cdr. G. (Bristol, N. W.) | Henderson, John (Cathcart) | Peake, Rt. Hon. O. |
| Brooke, Henry (Hampstead) | Higgs, J. M. C. | Perkins, W. R. D. |
| Browne, Jack (Govan) | Hill, Mrs. E. (Wythenshawe) | Peto, Brig. C. H. M. |
| Buchan-Hepburn, Rt. Hon. P. G. T. | Hinchingbrooke, Viscount | Pickthorn, K. W. M. |
| Bullard, D. G. | Hirst, Geoffrey | Pitman, I. J. |
| Bullock, Capt. M. | Holland-Martin, C. J. | Powell, J. Enoch |
| Bullus, Wing Commander E. E. | Hollis, M. C. | Price, Henry (Lewisham, W.) |
| Burden, F. F. A. | Hope, Lord John | Prior-Palmer, Brig. O. L. |
| Butler, Herbert (Hackney, S.) | Hopkinson, Henry | Profumo, J. D. |
| Carr, Robert (Mitcham) | Hornsby-Smith, Miss M. P. | Rayner, Brig. R. |
| Carson, Hon. E. | Hudson, Sir Austin (Lewisham, N.) | Redmayne, M. |
| Cary, Sir Robert | Hudson, W. R. A. (Hull, N.) | Remnant, Hon. P. |
| Channon, H. | Hulbert, Wing Cmdr. N. J. | Renton, D. L. M. |
| Churchill, Rt. Hon. W. S. | Hurd, A. R. | Roberts, Peter (Heeley) |
| Clarke, Col. Ralph (East Grinstead) | Hutchinson, Sir Geoffrey (Ilford, N.) | Robertson, Sir David |
| Clarke, Brig. Terence (Portsmouth, W.) | Hutchison, Lt.-Com. Clark (E'b'rgh W.) | Robinson, Roland (Blackpool, S.) |
| Clyde, Rt. Hon. J. L. | Hyde, Lt.-Col. H. M. | Rodgers, John (Sevenoaks) |
| Cole, Norman | Hylton-Foster, H. B. H. | Roper, Sir Harold |
| Colegate, W. A. | Jenkins, R. C. D. (Dulwich) | Russell, R. S. |
| Conant, Maj. R. J. E. | Jennings, R. | Ryder, Capt. R. E. D. |
| Cooper-Key, E. M. | Johnson, Eric (Blackley) | Salter, Rt. Hon. Sir Arthur |
| Craddock, Beresford (Spelthorne) | Joynson-Hicks, Hon. L. W. | Savory, Prof. Sir Douglas |
| Crookshank, Capt. Rt. Hon. H. F. C. | Kaberry, D. | Schofield, Lt.-Col. W. (Rochdale) |
| Crosthwaite-Eyre, Col. O. E. | Kerr, H. W. (Cambridge) | Scott, R. Donald |
| Crouch, R. F. | Lambert, Hon. G. | Scott-Miller, Cmdr. R. |
| Crowder, John E. (Finchley) | Lambton, Viscount | Shepherd, William |
| Cuthbert, W. N. | Lancaster, Col. C. G. | Smithers, Peter (Winchester) |
| Darling, Sir William (Edinburgh, S.) | Langford-Holt, J. A. | Snadden, W. McN. |
| De la Bère, R. | Legge-Bourke, Maj. E. A. H. | Soames, Capt. C. |
| Deedes, W. F. | Legh, P. R. (Petersfield) | Spearman, A. C. M. |
| Dodds-Parker, A. D. | Lennox-Boyd, Rt. Hon. A. T. | Speir, R. M. |
| Donaldson, Comdr. C. E. McA. | Lindsay, Martin | Spence, H. R. (Aberdeenshire, W.) |
| Donner, P. W. | Linstead, H. N. | Spens, Sir Patrick (Kensington, S.) |
| Doughty, C. J. A. | Lloyd, Rt. Hon. G. (King's Norton) | Stanley Capt. Hon. Richard |
| Douglas-Hamilton, Lord Malcolm | Lloyd, Maj. Guy (Renfrew, E.) | Stevens, G. P. |
| Drewe, C. | Lockwood, Lt.-Col. J. C. | Steward, W. A. (Woolwich, W.) |
| Duncan, Capt. J. A. L. | Longden, Gilbert (Herts, S. W.) | Stewart, Henderson (Fife, E.) |
| Duthie, W. S. | Low, A. R. W. | Stoddart-Scott, Col. M. |
| Eccles, Rt. Hon. D. M. | Lucas, Sir Jocelyn (Portsmouth, S.) | Storey, S. |
| Strauss, Henry (Norwich, S.) | Vane, W. M. F. | White, Baker (Canterbury) |
| Studholme, H. G. | Vaughan-Morgan, J. K. | Williams, Rt. Hon. Charles (Torquay) |
| Summers, G. S. | Vosper, D. F. | Williams, Gerald (Tonbridge) |
| Sutcliffe, H. | Wakefield, Edward (Derbyshire, W.) | Wills, G. |
| Taylor, William (Bradford, N.) | Wakefield, Sir Wavell (Marylebone) | Wilson, Geoffrey (Truro) |
| Thomas, Rt. Hon. J. P. L. (Hereford) | Walker-Smith, D. C. | Wood, Hon. R. |
| Thompson, Kenneth (Walton) | Ward, Hon. George (Worcester) | York, C. |
| Thompson, Lt.-Cdr. R. (Croydon, W.) | Ward, Miss I. (Tynemouth) | |
| Touche, G. C. | Waterhouse, Capt. Rt. Hon. C. | TELLERS FOR THE NOES: |
| Turton, R. H. | Webbe, Sir H. (London & Westminster) | Sir Herbert Williams and |
| Tweedsmuir, Lady | Wellwood, W. | Mr. Nabarro. |
Question put, and agreed to.