Mr John Jones: What was said was that when, if ever, the industry was re-nationalised and if compensated by another form of Government—neither the Government opposite nor a Government formed by the party of this side—it was possible in the future that the present state of affairs and the prices paid would be taken into account at that time. That is what was said.
Mr John Jones: Just the "lolly".
Mr John Jones: It is just "lolly" for the boys.
Mr John Jones: Of helping the nation.
Mr John Jones: It is the only company in Britain which, last year, during the artificially-designed recession, managed to work both to full capacity and full time.
Mr John Jones: Get on with it.
Mr John Jones: What has this got to do with steel?
Mr John Jones: But not outside the House.
Mr John Jones: Fifteen years ago.
Mr John Jones: My hon. Friend ought to know that the steel we have exported is not the type of steel which we are short of and have been exporting during the last century.
Mr John Jones: Hear, hear.
Mr John Jones: The right hon. Gentleman the Minister of Power made a very pungent remark when he said that for the first time since the Tories were returned to power the Opposition had found something on which they could be united and enthusiastic about. We are perfectly entitled to be enthusiastic in our opposition to this blatant taking-over of Government assets at a time when the Government are...
Mr John Jones: That is a completely different story, however, from the one which he would have told the country fifteen years or even fifteen months ago. He would have told the electorate that if the Government dared to touch the steel industry, or any unit of it, it would become decadent, inefficient, a burden on the resources of the State, and would not be worth touching with a barge pole. That was the...
Mr John Jones: The hon. Member gave sound advice to people prepared to invest in something which has proved to be a national asset. I want to come to the simple issue. My hon. Friend the Member for Ogmore (Mr. Padley) has spoken about it. He recalled that when he was a boy he saw the rolling downs under which was the God-given iron ore. I was born in my constituency and I saw the miners going to work to...
Mr John Jones: Tory what?
Mr John Jones: It is rather Tory lack of planning. We should have had this expansion before the war. If they had planned the industry to meet the needs of a modern society with full employment, this expansion would have been provided years ago. The Tories, however, never did believe in providing for a fully employed democracy.
Mr John Jones: if they did, why did they not do it when they had the opportunity? That is the answer to the hon. Member for Kidderminster on that one. The fact is that the country needs, beyond a shadow of doubt, things that should have been done years ago when, instead, we had men walking the streets singing "Bread of Heaven feed us" and hoping that it would. They could have been in a great scheme for...
Mr John Jones: I thank the hon. Member and I accept that. I stand corrected. I am grateful for his help on this occasion. The hon. Member for Kidderminster complains that the Government did not denationalise Richard Thomas and Baldwins quickly enough. He is right. Every day that public ownership of that great concern has continued proof of our advocacy has been brought home to the people. If the sordid,...
Mr John Jones: Tax-free, of course. Far too much is given to those who could afford to do without it, and there is too much tax on those who cannot afford to pay it. I would have hoped that to prove their case the Tories would have allowed at least one major company to go ahead and make a miserable failure. Then the Government could have said, "Here is our case. This company has failed. The experiment is...
Mr John Jones: The hon. Gentleman has made my case. He has told us that the representatives of the miners could go along to a meeting. What would be the result? It ought not to be necessary for lame, crippled and sick miners to invest money anywhere to obtain the means to live. There should be a national obligation to do something for men who have given of their best in the national interest. I will not go...
