DECIMAL CURRENCY (Hansard, 29 April 1955)

§ Mr. M. Follick (Loughborough)
I know, Mr. Deputy-Speaker, that it is not entirely your wish that I should exercise my prerogative this afternoon, but it may be the last time that I shall have the opportunity of doing so. I have sat here afternoon after afternoon trying to intervene in debates without success. Now, under the rules of the House, I am allowed to exercise my prerogative. It is the more timely because of recent happenings which rather support my point of view. I am speaking about a decimal currency for this country.

§ Mr. Deputy-Speaker (Sir Rhys Hopkin Morris)
Order. I do not know what Minister is responsible for this matter, or whether the hon. Member has given notice to anybody. If he has not, as I observed on the previous debate, it is a practice to be deprecated.

§ Mr. Follick
I was talking to the Treasury this morning, but I cannot say that there was any promise to be represented here.
However, I understand that I have this right, it is the last time I shall have it, and it would be unkind of you, Mr. Deputy-Speaker, to debar me from speaking.

§ Mr. Deputy-Speaker
What Minister is responsible?

§ Mr. Follick
I should imagine that the person responsible would be the Chancellor of the Exchequer, but as the right hon. Gentleman must be extremely busy at present, I could not call him here for a debate of this description. In any case, I shall not be delaying the House for long and it may be the last time that I shall have an opportunity to do so.

§ Mr. Deputy-Speaker
It is not a question of how long the hon. Member detains the House. What responsibility has the Chancellor of the Exchequer?

§ Mr. Follick
When I brought in my Bill the Chancellor of the Exchequer dealt with it.

§ Mr. Deputy-Speaker
This matter would need legislation, and we cannot discuss legislation upon the Adjournment.

§ Mr. Follick
I shall not discuss legislation, Mr. Deputy-Speaker; I shall discuss the advantages of the introduction of such a currency.

§ Mr. Deputy-Speaker
To carry out the advantages of it would involve legislation at some stage or another.

§ Mr. Follick
In this case it is not a matter of legislation but of appointing a Royal Commission to study the question, which was the basis of my Bill.

§ Mr. Deputy-Speaker
The hon. Member cannot discuss a Bill. Obviously he would have to introduce a Bill for that purpose and he cannot discuss a Bill on the Adjournment.

§ Mr. Follick
I am not discussing a Bill now, I am only discussing the fact that my Bill did not have a chance of appearing before the House because it was blocked by artificial methods—

§ Mr. Deputy-Speaker
Order. The hon. Member is clearly out of order.

§ Mr. C. R. Hobson (Keighley)
On a point of order, Mr. Deputy-Speaker. Would it be in order for my hon. Friend to ask for a Royal Commission to study the question of a decimal currency? I submit for your Ruling, with great respect, that that would require no legislation, and that if my hon. Friend argued that it was desirable to set up a Royal Commission for the purpose of studying the question of a decimal currency in which he is interested, he would be in order.

§ Mr. Deputy-Speaker
That is not what the hon. Member was submitting. The hon. Member was discussing a Bill which at some time he had tabled, and he was basing his argument for a Royal Commission on the provisions of that Bill.

§ Mr. Follick
That is erroneous, Mr. Deputy-Speaker, because I had not mentioned a Bill except to say that I had introduced a Bill earlier.
I was not raising this matter on the question of a Bill; I was raising this matter on account of certain important happenings in this country recently. The day before yesterday there was a conference in Scarborough of the National Federation of Traders which passed a 1315 resolution urging the Government to proceed to the discussion of the introduction of a decimal currency. South Africa, which is an important part of the Commonwealth, has already announced—

§ Mr. Deputy-Speaker
Order. None of this could be carried out unless a Bill were introduced for the purpose.

§ Mr. Follick
What I would like to see is not a Bill brought in to carry out this proposal but the fullest discussion of this matter by a Royal Commission.

§ Mr. Deputy-Speaker
Order. There is no point in having a Royal Commission unless somebody intends to legislate upon its findings.

§ Mr. Follick
Surely such a commission could take every point of view in the country, and if it decided that a decimal system of currency would be a good thing for the country—

§ Mr. Deputy-Speaker
A decimal system could not be introduced for the country without legislation, and to discuss on the Adjournment something that would require legislation is out of order.

§ Mr. Follick
With your permission, Mr. Deputy-Speaker, I will ask for a Royal Commission to be set up to study the introduction into this country of a system of decimal currency. There are parts of East Africa where we use our own coins, and it might be on that basis, or it could be a system like the one in South Africa—

§ Mr. Deputy-Speaker
Whatever form of currency it might be, we could not have it without legislation.

§ Mr. W. T. Proctor (Eccles)
Is not the point, Mr. Deputy-Speaker, the desirability of having this matter considered? We have had many Royal Commissions out of the reports of which, unfortunately, no legislation has arisen. Therefore, I submit that my hon. Friend, in exercising his right to ask for a Royal Commission to consider the desirability of this system of currency, is not asking for legislation. He is merely asking us to make up our minds whether or not it is desirable to have a Royal Commission.

§ Mr. Deputy-Speaker
Order. To ask for a Royal Commission, if it were not intended to legislate or that some action should follow upon the findings of the Royal Commission, would reduce discussion in the House to a farce.

§ Mr. Follick
I thank you, Mr. Deputy-Speaker, for having been so tolerant in allowing me to express my views and giving voice to my opinions and the opinion of 90 per cent. of the House that a decimal currency would be very desirable for the whole country, for industry—

§ Mr. Deputy-Speaker
That is exactly what I am trying to stop the hon. Member from pursuing.

§ Mr. Follick
I will not pursue the matter any further, but will only thank you for having been so tolerant in allowing me to speak.