HC Deb 14 April 1959 vol 603 cc809-11
46. Mr. Beswick

asked the Prime Minister whether he has considered the copy of the Charter of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament delivered to him on Easter Monday; and what reply he proposes to make to the correspondence since received from the chairman of the campaign.

The Secretary of State for the Home Department and Lord Privy Seal (Mr. R. A. Butler)

I have been asked to reply.

My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister has seen and noted a copy of the Charter of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament. A letter from the Chairman of the Campaign forwarding the text of a resolution passed in Trafalgar Square on Easter Monday has been acknowledged and he has been informed that its terms have been noted. In addition, my right hon. Friend received on Thursday last a letter from the Chairman asking if he would receive a deputation to discuss British policy in relation to nuclear weapons. He has replied that, while nuclear weapons, and all the problems to which they give rise are among his constant preoccupations, he does not think that any useful purpose would be served by such a discussion.

Mr. Beswick

Is the Prime Minister saying, therefore, that the weight of public opinion demonstrated at Easter will be ignored by him and that he will refuse to see this deputation?

Mr. Butler

I have nothing to add to the reply which I have given on behalf of the Prime Minister, namely, that clearly these are matters of the utmost concern to us all, but that he sees no useful purpose in pursuing the suggestion.

47. Mr. Beswick

asked the Prime Minister to what extent he proposes to take into account recent expressions of public opinion, such as have been notified to him by the hon. Member for Uxbridge, when considering future policy on the development of nuclear energy for military purposes.

Mr. R. A. Butler

I have been asked to reply.

In formulating their policies, Her Majesty's Government give due account to views expressed by this House and by the general public. We do not consider, however, that the views which the hon. Member and his friends quite sincerely hold represent either the opinion of the majority or the best interests of this country. We are fortified in this belief by the fact that they are at variance with the policies proclaimed by both the major parties in this House.

Mr. Beswick

Whether or not that is true, will the right hon. Gentleman take into account that the demonstration which culminated on Easter Monday in Trafalgar Square was the largest single political demonstration which has taken place in this country since the war and probably of all time, and that it was not only its size but its representative character which was so impressive? Is not this demonstration of public opinion, at a time when all the major political parties are complaining of political apathy, something which we should be very unwise to ignore?

Mr. Butler

I think that that is partly covered by what I said originally, namely, that such matters are of the profoundest interest not only for our country but for the future of the human race. It is not, therefore, surprising that they should excite a great deal of interest. Equally, in making our policy we must be governed by what we think is in the best interests of our country.