Part of the debate – in the House of Commons am ar 26 Gorffennaf 1935.
That is perfectly clear. But the principle of what I am saying remains. If we accept this Amendment we are accepting the handing over of powers to a producers' board to determine the output of a commodity which is in daily use in almost every home, and to determine also that in future only existing producers will be able to produce the commodity, to expand the output of which the right hon. Gentleman has applied every known method. Once this power to fix a particular quantity for a particular period is given only existing producers will be able to produce bacon in future. What we are doing to-day—or going half-way to doing: the right hon. Gentleman will agree that it needs only one more affirmation—is to grant a prescriptive perpetual right to existing producers of a certain commodity to produce that commodity, giving power to the Board to declare that no person not at present producing that commodity may ever be permitted to do so. It may be that for the sake of organisation and efficiency these powers are necessary under a national scheme, but I have yet to be persuaded that such powers ought to be granted to bodies of people who are in existence for profit and to whom service is secondary.
There is nothing in the schemes, nor has the right hon. Gentleman said anything, about limiting profits. They can limit the quantities to as low a figure as they like and increase their profits as high as they like. They are not like a public utility society, upon whom conditions are laid and whose profits are restricted. They will have the same power as the sugar factories have to exploit the situation, the same freedom as the hop producers have to exploit the power conceded to them. I do not think we ought to concede such powers. If there were consumers' representatives with power to prevent excessive profits being secured I could understand the position. The first thing that we on these benches stand for is an efficient system, but not efficiency under a scheme which gives a comparatively small number of people a prescriptive right in perpetuity to produce commodities for a guaranteed market, with a guaranteed price and with profits as high as they care to make them.
The first Amendment determines that once an increase in home production has been decided upon the expansion shall be pro rata, farm by farm or producer by producer. On the face of it that seems fair, but the right hon. Gentleman knows as well as anyone else that it will not be fair to a very large consumers' society in this country. The Co-operative Wholesale Society are responsible for the supply of bacon to 7,000,000 persons. They were unable to obtain supplies in this country, and had to invest the savings of the working class members of co-operative societies in Denmark, where they produce the kind and the quality of bacon which is required. The right hon. Gentleman has imposed restrictions upon imports from Denmark, and 40 per cent. of the imports of co-operative society bacon from Denmark have been cut off. Co-operative society funds have, therefore, been endangered by these import restrictions, and the co-operative societies quite rightly say, "If you close down our factories by cutting off our imports we are entitled to expect that if there is any expansion of output in this country the Co-operative Wholesale Society shall be permitted to produce a quantity equivalent to that which they are prevented from importing from Denmark, where it has been cured in their own factories."