§ 19. Mr. Lewisasked the President of the Board of Trade to give particulars of the manner in which he has strengthened the power of the Monopolies Commission and enabled it to speed up its work; and when these new powers will become operative.
§ Mr. P. ThorneycroftAs I explained in the debate on the Address on 5th November, it is the Government's intention to introduce a Bill dealing with these matters. It will not, however, be practicable to do so during the present Session.
§ Mr. LewisBut is the right hon. Gentleman not aware that for some four or five years the Conservative Party have been saying that they would do this, and are we to have it put off again? Is he not aware that our people would far prefer to have a Bill for this purpose than the de-nationalisation of transport and steel; and will he bring forward this Bill and drop the other two?
§ Mr. ThorneycroftWhile I also am conscious of the desirability of extending the scope of the Monopolies Commission to cover nationalised industries, we have already spent some days discussing what should or should not be in the Gracious Speech, and I do not think I ought to extend it further in answer to a supplementary question.