PENSIONS FOR WIDOWS

Hokitika Guardian, 4 November 1929, Page 7

PENSIONS FOR WIDOWS

NUMBER. TO BE DOUBLED

LONDON, October 31

Mr Arthur Greenwood (Labour), in the House of Commons, moved the second reading of the Widows, Orphans and Old' Age Contributory Pensions Bill. He sa d unit it was merely an instalment of a larger policy. A Cabinet Committee was surveying this complex problem. The present Bill would remove several hardships, and it would provide pensions for altogether half a million widows. Mr Greenwood said the Hon N Chamberlain had attacked this mensure because he said, it would cost eight millions sterling per year, but if they had been asked for eight millions for battleships, then the Conservatives would halve given it. Mr Neville Chamberlain said that during the election Rt. Hon Mr Henderson had promised pensions to every widow in the land, and an increase of the old age pensions to £l, though he must have known that his promise could not be- kept. The Labourites were beginning to think about Finance, but when the came to raise money, they would learn there was no bottomless pit about finance. Mr Gunstone (Conservative) said that this was not a Pensions Bill, but it was a shower of gold from the State. He did not see why spinsters should not share in the shower of gold. . t . Sir Kingsley Wood (Conservative) said that the Bill was a betrayal or ad the election pledges given by the Labour Party, ft was a most unjust measure.

Rt. Hon. Miss Susan Lawrence, summing up on behalf of the Government, said that no one had any right to expect that this Bill would carry out all of the Labour Party’s pledges. It was nip rely an instalment, hut it doubled the number of widow’s pensions. The Bill wns read a second time without a division.