Orders of the Day — Railway Fares

Part of the debate – in the House of Commons am 12:00 am ar 25 Ionawr 1949.

Danfonwch hysbysiad imi am ddadleuon fel hyn

Photo of Mr Percy Morris Mr Percy Morris , Gorllewin Abertawe 12:00, 25 Ionawr 1949

I can hardly believe that the hon. Gentleman is as ingenuous as that, and in view of what he has said about the Parliamentary Secretary, I do not think he would have given him that golden opportunity. I should like him to compare the year 1921 and the progress made from 1918 to 1921 and from 1945 to 1948. It would be very much against his case, and it would be ample proof of the enterprise of the Railway Executive during the past 12 months. But I do not wish to infringe upon the time of the Parliamentary Secretary. I submit that the case against the Ministry and the Railway Executive has not been proved. If the complaint was about dear fares, they are higher than we would wish them to be; but we are never going back to the cheap fares of the old days at the expense of the employees in the transport industry. The day has come when transport must be paid for on an economic basis, but I still believe that, with proper organisation and co-ordination, we could have efficient service at a reduced cost, given reasonable time in which to adopt these improvements.