7. Mrs. Whiteasked the Secretary of State for the Colonies if he will make a statement on his discussion of constitutional development in Uganda.
§ Mr. Lennox-BoydIn the reply to a Question by the hon. Member for Wednesbury (Mr. Stonehouse) on 29th October, my hon. Friend undertook to have copies placed in the Library of a statement which I made in Uganda on 10th October. I have nothing to add to that statement, in which I said:
The view of Her Majesty's Government is that it is wise to proceed towards self-government within the Commonwealth by carefully considered steps, each step being consolidated and fully understood before the next is taken. When direct elections on a Common Roll are introduced in 1961, this will be a further positive and important step forward towards self-government.
Mrs. WhiteDoes the right hon. Gentleman know that there is a considerable divergence of opinion in the Uganda Legislative Council on the kind of election which should take place in 1961? In view of that, what proposals has the right hon. Gentleman for obtaining a proper exchange of ideas in Uganda, with some kind of qualified advice to the people concerned?
§ Mr. Lennox-BoydApart from what I have said, I have made it clear that there will be no major changes in the constitution until 1961, after which there will be a review. I know that there were differences of opinion in the Legislative Council, but there is general support for the introduction of an election common 1122 roll. Disagreement exists over the reservation of seats for non-Africans. I hope that discusssion will resolve this difficulty.