Oral Answers to Questions — Economic Affairs – in the House of Commons am 12:00 am ar 26 Tachwedd 1964.
Mr. Gresham Cooke:
asked the First Secretary of State and Secretary of State for Economic Affairs who are the members of the National Economic Development Council.
Mr Anthony Crosland
, Grimsby
A list of the members of the N.E.D.C. will be circulated with the OFFICIAL REPORT.
Mr. Gresham Cooke:
Would the hon. Gentleman confirm that the Chancellor of the exchequer is not among the list of members of the National Economic Development Council? If that is so, is not it wrong that the chief economic figure of the country should not be on the Council? Does this mean that there will be no financial control of this very important Council?
Mr Anthony Crosland
, Grimsby
I can confirm that my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the exchequer will not be a member. The reason is that the Council will be concerned mainly with questions of physical rather than financial policy, but of course co-operation between my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer and my right hon. Friend the First Secretary of State, who will be Chairman of the Council, is a matter of continuous and perfect harmony.
Mr. Deputy-Speaker:
Mr. William Clark.
Mr. Deputy-Speaker:
Order. Some hon. Members seem to be anticipating that they will be called. I called Mr. William Clark.
Mr William Clark
, Nottingham South
Does not the hon. Gentleman agree that it is rather unusual to have the Chancellor of the exchequer excluded from such an important body as the N.E.D.C.? How can one have integration and consultation if the Chancellor is excluded from the deliberations of the Council? Would the hon. Gentleman ask his right hon. Friend to consider this matter again? Is he aware that not only do we on this side of the House think it is disastrous but that people throughout the country are absolutely astounded that the Chancellor is being relegated to the rôle of being merely a bookkeeper?
Mr Anthony Crosland
, Grimsby
No, Sir. I cannot accept what was stated in that supplementary question. It is not true. We considered this very carefully and we decided that as this was a body mainly concerned with the physical side of planning and with the efficiency of particular industries the right chairman of the body was my right hon. Friend the First Secretary and that there was no especial need for the Chancellor of the exchequer to be on this body itself. I must make it clear that if what is worrying the hon. Member is the question of the relation existing inside the Government between the First Secretary and the Chancellor —which is very important —this should not be established primarily in the forum of an outside body. This is primarily a matter of internal government.
Mr Edward Heath
, Bexley
Will the hon. Gentleman confirm that it is his understanding that N.E.D.C. in future will have no discussions of any kind about matters of incomes policy, for example? Is not he really saying that, as a result of taking the creative organisational part out of N.E.D.C. and putting it into his right hon. Friend's own Department, N.E.D.C. now becomes just another advisory body, in this case an advisory body to the First Secretary of State?
Mr Anthony Crosland
, Grimsby
On the question of incomes policy, all the discussions now being conducted on that subject, both with the trade unions and with the employers, are being conducted by a Government team consisting of the First Secretary of State, the Chancellor of the exchequer and the Minister of Labour, so that the Chancellor is fully involved in the discussions about prices and incomes policy.
In reply to the right hon. Gentleman's second point about the future rôle of N.E.D.C., I do not accept the fears which he implied. What we are taking away from N.E.D.C. is the actual function of making the plan, the actual detailed study of figures and targets for particular sectors of the economy. We are taking away all that and putting it in the Department of Economic Affairs. But the National Economic Development Council's rôle of consultation while the plan is being drawn up, its rôle of helping to implement the plan, and its rôle as a source of ideas for the Government to consider will continue. Its whole advisory rôle in this way will continue as it was before, and, indeed, we hope that it will be very much strengthened as compared with what it used to be.
Mr Archibald Manuel
, Central Ayrshire
In order to remove the doubts from the minds of hon. Members opposite, will my hon. Friend tell the House that on this and allied questions we intend to carry out our policy and plans, and not those of the Tory Party?
Secretary of State was originally the title given to the two officials who conducted the Royal Correspondence under Elizabeth I. Now it is the title held by some of the more important Government Ministers, for example the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.
The chancellor of the exchequer is the government's chief financial minister and as such is responsible for raising government revenue through taxation or borrowing and for controlling overall government spending.
The chancellor's plans for the economy are delivered to the House of Commons every year in the Budget speech.
The chancellor is the most senior figure at the Treasury, even though the prime minister holds an additional title of 'First Lord of the Treasury'. He normally resides at Number 11 Downing Street.
The Chancellor - also known as "Chancellor of the Exchequer" is responsible as a Minister for the treasury, and for the country's economy. For Example, the Chancellor set taxes and tax rates. The Chancellor is the only MP allowed to drink Alcohol in the House of Commons; s/he is permitted an alcoholic drink while delivering the budget.
The Speaker is an MP who has been elected to act as Chairman during debates in the House of Commons. He or she is responsible for ensuring that the rules laid down by the House for the carrying out of its business are observed. It is the Speaker who calls MPs to speak, and maintains order in the House. He or she acts as the House's representative in its relations with outside bodies and the other elements of Parliament such as the Lords and the Monarch. The Speaker is also responsible for protecting the interests of minorities in the House. He or she must ensure that the holders of an opinion, however unpopular, are allowed to put across their view without undue obstruction. It is also the Speaker who reprimands, on behalf of the House, an MP brought to the Bar of the House. In the case of disobedience the Speaker can 'name' an MP which results in their suspension from the House for a period. The Speaker must be impartial in all matters. He or she is elected by MPs in the House of Commons but then ceases to be involved in party politics. All sides in the House rely on the Speaker's disinterest. Even after retirement a former Speaker will not take part in political issues. Taking on the office means losing close contact with old colleagues and keeping apart from all groups and interests, even avoiding using the House of Commons dining rooms or bars. The Speaker continues as a Member of Parliament dealing with constituent's letters and problems. By tradition other candidates from the major parties do not contest the Speaker's seat at a General Election. The Speakership dates back to 1377 when Sir Thomas Hungerford was appointed to the role. The title Speaker comes from the fact that the Speaker was the official spokesman of the House of Commons to the Monarch. In the early years of the office, several Speakers suffered violent deaths when they presented unwelcome news to the King. Further information can be obtained from factsheet M2 on the UK Parliament website.
Ministers make up the Government and almost all are members of the House of Lords or the House of Commons. There are three main types of Minister. Departmental Ministers are in charge of Government Departments. The Government is divided into different Departments which have responsibilities for different areas. For example the Treasury is in charge of Government spending. Departmental Ministers in the Cabinet are generally called 'Secretary of State' but some have special titles such as Chancellor of the Exchequer. Ministers of State and Junior Ministers assist the ministers in charge of the department. They normally have responsibility for a particular area within the department and are sometimes given a title that reflects this - for example Minister of Transport.
The political party system in the English-speaking world evolved in the 17th century, during the fight over the ascension of James the Second to the Throne. James was a Catholic and a Stuart. Those who argued for Parliamentary supremacy were called Whigs, after a Scottish word whiggamore, meaning "horse-driver," applied to Protestant rebels. It was meant as an insult.
They were opposed by Tories, from the Irish word toraidhe (literally, "pursuer," but commonly applied to highwaymen and cow thieves). It was used — obviously derisively — to refer to those who supported the Crown.
By the mid 1700s, the words Tory and Whig were commonly used to describe two political groupings. Tories supported the Church of England, the Crown, and the country gentry, while Whigs supported the rights of religious dissent and the rising industrial bourgeoisie. In the 19th century, Whigs became Liberals; Tories became Conservatives.
