HC Deb 27 October 1952 vol 505 cc1548-9
5. Mr. Lewis

asked the Minister of Transport the number of letters and resolutions of protest he has received against the Government's proposals to de-nationalise transport.

Mr. Lennox-Boyd

The representations I have received vary greatly in their nature and scope. They do not lend themselves to numerical analysis, and it is not therefore practicable to give the figure for which the hon. Member asks.

Mr. Lewis

Is the Minister aware that he will have to take on new staff in the immediate future because hundreds of resolutions are being passed by the workers in this industry? Will he see that they are given consideration?

Mr. Lennox-Boyd

The hon. Gentleman is wholly mistaken. The arrival of a certain volume of letters has revived in my Department nostalgic memories of what happened when road haulage was being nationalised. A large proportion of the letters received have come from the hon. Gentleman himself, so in his case and all the cases the great "sell out" has not been a best seller.

Mr. Patrick Maitland

Is my right hon. Friend aware that the Transport and General Workers' Union invited all their branches to lobby Tory and Liberal Members of the House of Commons last May against the policy outlined in the White Paper, and that very few, if any of us, have received any representations from any source?

Mr. Lennox-Boyd

Indeed, I am. The strange similarity in the words of many of these letters suggests that the Socialist Party, while not agreeing on its own intentions, are united in misrepresenting the intentions of the Government.

Mr. Jay

To allay the uncertainty felt in this industry, can the Minister either confirm or deny reports that he now means to make major changes in his unworkable proposals?

Mr. Lennox-Boyd

If I made any such statement in reply to the supplementary question, the right hon. Gentleman would be the first to complain.