PASSED BY HOUSE OF COMMONS

Wairarapa Times-Age, 30 January 1942, Page 3

PASSED BY HOUSE OF COMMONS

Only One Dissentient TWENTY-FOUR MEMBERS ABSTAIN FROM VOTING MR CHURCHILL REPLIES TO CRITICISM LONDON, January 29; After Mr Churchill had replied to criticism at the end of the three days’ debate in the House of Commons on the war situation, a vote of confidence in the Government was carried by 464 votes to one, Mr Maxton being the only member to vote against the motion. Twenty-four abstained from voting at all. The main points in Mr Churchill’s reply were: The appointment of Mr Nelson to supervise the whole production of the United States had altered the question of creating a Ministry of Production in Britain. Since Britain and the United States were pooling their resources a similar office must be created here. The arrival of American troops in the United Kingdom would give greater freedom, of movement overseas of units of the British Army and would enable munitions now being made in the United States to be sent to Australia and New Zealand. In the Pacific, said Mr Churchill, although he took full responsibility for strategy, that did not mean that inefficiency on the spot would not be purged. At the same time Britain never had the power to deal with Germany, Italy and Japan at the same time. In Malaya, he could not tell how the attack on Singapore would go but a steady flow of reinforcements had gone into the island for weeks past. There was no doubt the battleships sent to Singapore should have been accompanied by an aircraft carrier but no aircraft carrier was available, It was decided that action was required and Admiral Sir Tom Phillips was aware of the risk, which was a fair and reasonable one. Had he succeeded it might have relieved a whole catalogue of misfortunes. The Libyan campaign, Mr Churchill observed, although small in comparison with the vast Russian battle, had drawn off important German air forces at a critical moment. Even if part of the ground had to be gone over for the third time, there was no reason why the campaign should not be a profitable one.