HC Deb 08 December 1955 vol 547 cc528-9
5. Lieut.-Colonel Lipton

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether, in order to reduce traffic congestion, he will not reconsider previous refusals to hold the Lord Mayor's Show on a Saturday.

Major Lloyd-George

No, Sir. This proposal was carefully examined but rejected as recently as 1952. The route and procession were shortened in that year, and I would like to see further experience of the new arrangements before another change is considered.

Lieut.-Colonel Lipton

Is the Home Secretary aware that this annual nuisance dams London traffic over a very wide area and is damned by everyone who has business to do in London on that day? Has not the situation deteriorated even more since 1952, and why is the Home Secretary being so obstinate about it?

Major Lloyd-George

I am not being obstinate. First, it is not within my power to alter the date of the Lord Mayor's Show, because it is a statutory obligation that the ceremony at the Law Courts shall take place on 9th November unless it be a Sunday. As to its being a nuisance, there are a large number of people in the City of London who like it very much.