The Supplementary Question
Nebb was getting to his feet again even as the Speaker nodded to him. How dare Chamberlain try to paint him as some kind of Nationalist! But he must not let himself be sidetracked by such tiresome misrepresentation. Yet he also felt genuinely saddened at the manner in which his invitation had been rejected. “Mr Speaker, (he waited for the abuse to die down…) I am proud of the people of these islands and of their sense of fair play; I am not proud of the way these islands have been governed... I do sincerely wish that the Prime Minister would find time to visit at least one deprived area; heaven knows there are enough to choose from... Surely he is not losing touch with the social ideals he once held so dear? (‘I must get back on track’, thought Nebb…) Mr Speaker, I extended my invitation because I felt that such a visit would be of great benefit to him and help him, now that he is at the head of government, to stay in touch with affairs in the real world. I fear that such help is already needed. I have tried to raise an urgent and important matter with him but been forced to go through his officials, and of course, given the way of such things, got no where. Even my personal invitation has been rejected. This matter is so important that I feel it must be addressed; therefore I am forced to mention it now.
“Mr Speaker, if one where to read such journals as the Times or the Daily Mail one would be under the impression that we have moved on from Hard Times, completed Great Expectations [OOC: a reference to a speech by Chamberlain in 1934] and, having left the works of Mr Dickens behind, are now poised on the title page of Milton’s Paradise Regained… Mr Speaker, it was the duty of the 12 spies to give an honest report. Like all Honourable and Right Honourable Members I am here because I am honest. (Someone cried out, ‘Oh really! I never knew that!’…) Because of that honesty I must mix my metaphors and become like the little boy pointing to the Emperor and saying, ‘He has no clothes on’.
(That put the cat amongst the pigeons, with the Tories shouting, ‘ No! No! Shut up! Sit down!’ while the National Liberal and National Labour Members joined in but in quieter fashion. At this the instinctive reaction of the Labour Party sitting in opposition was to go for the Tories and cry in support of the M.P. on his feet, but because that person was Nebb they became somewhat divided amongst themselves. Meanwhile the "Samuelite" Liberals were variously attacking and supporting him and shouting at the other parties, especially at those Liberals who supported the government. Several Members rose to their feet to playfully exchange insults with each other. After several calls of, “Order!” the Speaker was able to contain the rumpus. Nebb, who had been standing impassively, resumed his speech…)
“This sudden and dramatic apparent increase in prosperity is in fact due to new accounting methods and some measures introduced a couple of years ago by the then Chancellor of the Exchequer. (This remark led to a fresh brouhaha for the Speaker to calm down…) The new economic measures to increase supply production to 10.6 and keep military upgrades at 9, while continuing a careful overhaul of our armed forces, seem welcome, on the face of it. (Nebb had decided not to mention the discrepancies between the announced figures and those in the report he had seen, as to do so would only reduce the impact of his main point…) But there is a problem. We all know something of the activities of two small groups of people, some on the extreme right who claim to be in favour of working people and of the country, but in fact further the aims of Herr Hitler, and of others – sad to say – on the left who make exactly the same claims but in reality serve the aims of Moscow. (As the Members were politically opposed to at least one of these groups, everyone – including the lone Communist M.P. who felt he was most certainly not a member of either – stayed mostly silent, even those who felt his remarks about foreign powers were in bad taste…) These groups take advantage of the deprivation I have already referred to. They are small at present, but their effects are being felt. Indeed, if (he paused for dramatic effect…) one where to read a certain government report, one would see that the level of dissent they have managed to whip up is well over 2 percent.
(This last sentence brought shock to the faces of those Cabinet members who were present. Shock surely that he knew of such confidential information, surely not shock that it existed? Although for the rest of the House who now sat in hushed silence it was a ‘double whammy’. This is why parliamentary privilege exists thought Nebb as he continued…)
“I refer to my own city of Sheffield with which I an familiar. The industrial output of Sheffield, of iron, of steel, of advanced special steels from its foundries and metal shops, of its manufactured machines, goods and equipment both large and small, sometimes at the cutting edge of technology, produced both in giant factories and by hand in ‘little mesters’, is vital to these islands. In the Great War the city raised whole divisions, the place of the workers being taken on the home front by women, by the old, and by a valuable influx of immigrants. But the fact is, the current level of dissent would and does reduce that output. Even worse, that debilitating effect is felt not just in Sheffield, but everywhere. The industrial capacity of the whole nation is being reduced by a figure equal to the level of dissent, and what impact is that having? Economists I speak to tell me that equates to 2 whole I.C. being lost. It also reduces the effectiveness of our armed forces.
“And yet no steps have been taken to reduce this dissent…
“Mr Speaker, this dissent can only be successfully eradicated by a programme that includes eradicating the appalling conditions that still exist in large parts of these islands. I ask the Prime Minister, what steps does he propose to take to reduce the level of dissent? And when does he propose to start taking them?”
Nebb sat down, surprised by the space that opened up for him on the steps…