The 1961 Hansard trawl, featuring, inter alia, Denis Healey, the 'common market' and smoking

Another Hansard ramble, this time from October 1961.

What about this little nail bomb? (my emphases):

THE EARL OF MANSFIELD asked Her Majesty's Government:

If, when negotiating for entry into the Common Market, they will make it clear to the other countries concerned that such entry on the part of Great Britain will be possible only if we retain the right to withdraw from such an association at a later date, on due notice given, and under previously agreed conditions, should it be subsequently found that continued membership would be dangerous, or prejudicial, to our national prosperity or way of life.

THE JOINT PARLIAMENTARY UNDER-SECRETARY OF STATE FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS (THE MARQUESS OF LANSDOWNE) The Treaty of Rome contains no provisions for withdrawal or denunciation. Any proposal for the inclusion of such provisions would go beyond the adjustments to the Treaty provided for in Article 237. Under Article 236, proposals for amending the Treaty can be made by the Government of any member State or by the Commission and require unanimous approval. If Her Majesty's Government had come to the conclusion that British membership of the E.E.C. would be dangerous or prejudicial to our national prosperity or way of life, they would not have decided to apply to open negotiations with a view to acceding, on suitable terms, to the Treaty of Rome.

We wuz warned.....  Mungo David Malcolm Murray, 7th Earl of Mansfield and Mansfield (we heard you the first time...) did not live to see us accede to the Common Market, if my calculations are correct.


And so to older friends / partners etc:

THE EARL OF HARROWBY asked Her Majesty's Government:What Department has inherited the duties and propaganda of the pre-war Empire Marketing Board and whether modernised publicity, along the invaluable lines on which they worked, can be re-introduced to-day.

An Empire marketing board, eh?  Sounds like a pretty challenging job for even the most efficient of marketeers, but perhaps quite entertaining.  Maybe one would get a governorship rather than equity as a reward for a job well done.    As to the answer, that is far too dull to be worth quoting.

On a day, and in the junior chamber, this:

Mr. Strachey  (by Private Notice) asked the Minister of Aviation whether he is aware of the growing public concern over the recent accidents to aircraft belonging to private airlines, including the Dakota aircraft that crashed near Carlisle on 17th October; whether he will give the number of fatal accidents per million passenger miles flown for aircraft of the private airlines and the public Corporations respectively during 1960 and 1961 to date; and whether he will issue new and stricter safety regulations for all aircraft on charter flights.

The Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Aviation (Mr. C. M. Woodhouse)  My right hon. Friend is indeed aware of the growing public concern over the recent accidents to aircraft belonging to private airlines and he shares it. He is today on a flight gaining background knowledge to assist him in considering the problems involved, and that is why I apologise for being here on his behalf.

I think he survived.

Some interesting comments from Denis Healey in a foreign affairs debate:

Mr. Denis Healey (Leeds, East) The second day of this debate on foreign affairs is, inevitably, overshadowed by the statement made at the Soviet Communist Party Congress yesterday by Chairman Khrushchev that the Soviet Government intend to explode a 50 megaton bomb in about a fortnight from now. All of us are by now used to the tedious bluster about Russia's atomic striking power in which Mr. Khrushchev so frequently indulges, and I do not think that there is any evidence that anyone in the West has so far been deflected from his course by this type of rocket rattling.

.......

After all, for Germans and, I think, for anyone who cares for human freedom, the closing of the frontier between East and West Berlin on 13th August was one of the most monstrously inhuman acts carried out by any Government in the last fifteen years. There is no doubt that public opinion in Western Germany was stunned by this act and was equally stunned by the failure of the allied Governments to do anything about it....There is no doubt that a final solution of the European problem must depend on the reunification of Germany. History teaches us that we cannot build a stable peace on the division of a great nation against its will. Incidentally, no one knows this better than the Poles. Moreover, the possibility of German reunification will remain alive so long as West Berlin is free. But German reunification can come only by the consent of all concerned. It is now finally revealed that it cannot come by force or by the threat of force.

Away from the particular to the philosophical:

Against this background I deplore the tendency which seems to me to have been growing in leading Government spokesmen in the last few weeks to pose as crusaders for spiritual values in the struggle against the world's materialists. Frankly, I think this sort of posture striking comes no better from them than it did from Mr. Foster Dulles—especially when the temple of their religion is the bingo parlour and when their first beatitude is "You have never had it so good." [HON. MEMBERS: "Cheap."]

One has to hand it to the old bruiser, he has a way with words.  He's still with us, and now 94. A civilian friend who served him in a shop some years back said he was charming and unassuming.

And so to '[the] custom loathsome to the eye, hateful to the nose, harmful to the brain, dangerous to the lungs, and in the black stinking fume thereof nearest resembling the horrible stygian smoke of the pit that is bottomless' (in James I's reckoning):

Mr. Francis Noel-Baker (Swindon) I wish to attempt to draw the attention of the House to the advertising campaigns being conducted by tobacco manufacturers and, in particular, to their efforts to persuade young people and children to smoke cigarettes, on which they are at the present time spending large amounts of money....Of course, this whole matter has to be judged against the background of the horrifying risks to health which have shown to be involved in the heavy smoking of cigarettes. That risk, let me add, is precisely the same whether one is dealing with the smoking of the old-fashioned, conventional, plain cigarette, or with the cigarette with the filter tip or the mentholated cigarettes which in the last few years have been entering the consumer market.

Let's not get him started on low tar cigarettes....

What should one conclude from this:

A survey of a county borough near London showed that over one-quarter of grammar school boys and over one-third of secondary modern school boys were smokers by the time they were 15, and smoking over five cigarettes a week, and often more.

When I were a lad, I did not start in my teens - unlike many of my contemporaries - as I did not have school dinner money to re-appropriate for the habit, as I was a picky blighter who took a packed lunch to school instead.  My eating habits have improved since, and I've also smoked the odd tobacco product.

And here Noel-Baker gets tendentious:

Those in this business who ought to know take the view that very few smokers can tell the difference between brands of cigarettes if they are blindfolded. Therefore, advertising campaigns are concerned with factors other than the immediate physical characteristics of the cigarettes concerned.

I have not smoked cigarettes 'professionally' for years, but I could still differentiate French from American from 'British' cigarettes.

And so to the past being another country:

Indeed, I see no reason why tobacco advertising should not be taken off the commercial television screen altogether in the same way as the advertising of spirits has. 

Go to circa 5:26 for something a little bit wonderful:

Mind you, from what I've seen - admittedly with the volume off, as I'm in a coffee shop - it is all rather good.

Furthermore, while the Parliamentary Secretary is talking to the Chairman of I.T.V. he might speak to him about smoking by performers in non-commercial programmes. I do not watch the commercial screen very frequently, but I am told by those who do that in almost any type of programme, and particularly the so-called serious political discussions, some and often all of the participants are constantly puffing away at cigarettes and offering themselves a further supply.

Yeah, yeah and he didn't read any newspaper other than The Times.

Niall MacPherson proves prescient:

The hon. Gentleman suggested that we should try to eliminate this element of what is, after all, realism from the stage and television. How far are we to carry that? Are we to edit books and censor any suggestion that smoking may give satisfaction? Has the hon. Gentleman his eye on Sherlock Holmes' pipe? Is all smoking on streets and in public places to be forbidden? One has to regard this in due proportion.

And wise:

After all, advertising in a very real sense is the hallmark of a free society. It is playing a great part in raising the standard of living in this country. It will certainly have to play its part in our efforts to expand our export trade, and we ought to think very carefully before we subject any part of it to what may be an unnecessary restriction. We should, and we do, restrict advertisements presenting misleading claims for cures and for certain other goods and activities. There is legislation to deal with that.

Just what is it with the youth of Romania?

A pertinent question, I think, given that according to a Eurobarometer poll of Euro Yoof (15-24 year olds) on the subject of drugs and the like, some 15% would like to ban alcohol.  Yes, really.  (There's a whole lot of other interesting stuff in the survey, but time is tight.  I might return to this next week).  I can't say I've ever had any Romanian booze, so perhaps a reader with experience of it could point out whether this is a sane reaction to Wallachian riesling on the part of the Dacian Generation Y.

While the Romanians do the most to appal, the EU average for banning is 7%, with this topped in Belgium, Slovenia, Luxembourg, Cyprus, Sweden (surprise x2), France (yes, really), Lithuania, Spain and Italy (Good grief, Carlo Bruno).  Some 4% of British youth agree, while the Danes and Dutch are bottom at 3%.

Curious opinion poll o' the day. Yes, it's French.

Now that the Visigoths appear to have been sent back to their caves, time for some light relief, and where better to turn than to a bizarre French opinion poll, which I am *not*, repeat, *not* making up:

'The French and their sexual fantasies', conducted by Harris for Marianne, a current affairs etc magazine.

Yes, really.  Here's the link to the data.  In keeping with basic decorum and this being a family blog and all, there's nothing that should bring bring too much of a blush to a maidenly cheek or otherwise be not safe for work.

The initial question asks whether folk think about other people while engaged in 'l'amour' with a significant other, and the findings are not that thrilling.  Where it gets interesting is when the data is examined by political allegiance.  Right wingers are the ones with minds most prone to wander - 6% 'fessed up to 'often', compared to zero among the extreme left.  Whether that is down to questions of loyalty,  fulfillment, imagination or the reverse is left unexplored.  The highest figure for 'never' is for Gaull ist - 53% and the lowest for Greens (not included in extreme left, oddly enough) - 39%.

Offered a list of celebs, George Clooney (F - 33%) and Sophie Marceau (M- 30%) top the list.  Clint Eastwood does octogenarians proud, as 9% of ladies opted for him.  And Brad Pitt outscores Kate Moss among chaps.  There is a heavy skew towards Clooney for the extreme left and for Sophie Marceau for the right.  Clooney is a liberal, surprise surprise, while Marceau has refused to share a TV studio with Jean-Marie Le Pen.  How she feels about the Laffer curve, climate change and school vouchers is as yet unknown.

Entertaining though this is, the survey then moves onto French politicians, which is where the fun really starts.  For chaps, top of the table at 25% is Rama Yade.  Here she is:

She served in Sarko's government and was ambassador to UNESCO.  Current whereabouts are unknown.

Second most popular (10%) is Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet, minister for the environment etc:

Ségolène Royal limps home in third at 5%.

For the ladies, it is Dominique de Villepin, albeit at a rather feeble 4%:

As for Sarko himself, he scores one per cent among the ladies, less than Ms Yade.  Mind you, Francois Hollande and Martine Aubrey scored zero for both genders.  Dominique Strauss Kahn rates 1% among female respondents and I will add nothing more to that finding.

The political skew sees little to separate right from left when it comes to Rama Yade, but there is evidence of party loyalty with other figures - 7% of Frontistes 'like' Marine Le Pen, compared to 1% overall, and Aubry and Hollande do register some support among the left.  Greens prefer Royal, relative to the norm. 

Stalked by marketeers?

Surveying my e-mail in box, I spotted this message header, sent straight to junk:

(Click for enhanced visibility, or take my word for it that it reads 'More competition planned for the NHS')

Thinking this might be a sign of the current PM doing something sound (I live in hope...), I had a look at the content:

Yup, it is touting viagra.    Now we all suffer hateful levels of spam on a daily basis, no doubt, but what intrigues is that this particular viagra touter thought that the British policy wonk demographic was one worth targeting.    

Headline o' the day

From Unite's media site:

Unite warns against privatisation of the National Blood Service: 'No to Blood Money'.

Not a hint of melodrama, eh?

Meanwhile, the date of the release can be contrasted to this extract from the release:  "On 16 February, the Health Service Journal learned that the Department of Health's commercial directorate held talks with private providers about running parts of the NHS Blood and Transplant service. Capita and DHL are understood to be interested in taking over parts of the service".

Granted, one might argue that HSJ did not necessarily go to press on the 17th (although this website item is dated 16/2...), but it does rather suggest that Unite is not as on the ball as perhaps it might be.

Can't see what the fuss is about, personally, and I will declare an interest as an erratic blood donor.  That's erratic as in the frequency of my donations, rather than as in my blood which I think is something dull like O.

Survey and commemoration o' the day

It is that time of the year again, apparently, it being the Fourth World Rare Diseases Day.  And in a impressive show of foresight, the EU commissioned a survey on rare diseases, which today sees the light of day.

So to the findings.  A rather alarming 37% of those polled do not know what a rare disease is, with a special salute to the 3% that replied 'These are diseases that nobody cares about'.  In France that figure is 6% and Italy 5%, but a mere 2% in these parts.   Makes you proud, doesn't it?  Among those who 'know or who have heard of a case of a rare disease', the 'nobody cares' response still rates a 2% response rate, which is pretty harsh.

Anyway, on to the rare diseases that Eurobarometer addresses - Cystic fibrosis, haemophilia, osteogenesis imperfecta, progeria, Duchenne muscular dystrophy and Huntington’s disease.  CF is the best known at 65%, followed by haemophillia at 60%, DMD at 39%, Huntingdon's at 31%, OI at 19% and Progeria at 16%.  I had not heard of the last two, so have that in common with the majority of those polled.   The Bulgarians and the Austrians proved to be the least well informed, while our neighbours to the West and the South did rather well.  

Some 84% of Danes claim to know or to have heard of someone suffering from a rare disease, which makes me wonder whether they are enthusiastic hospital visitors or can't tear them selves away from medical stories in the media.  We come bottom of the heap at 40%.  Sieving it out a bit, 42% of Danes claim to know someone with a rare disease, compared to 6% of Greeks.  One does wonder whether our Danish chums just wanted to show off.  Elsewhere, there is a strong correlation between both higher social status and tertiary education and knowing someone with a rare disease.  Or lying about it.     

Asked whether 'the cost of ...drugs to treat people suffering from rare diseases should be fully reimbursed by the national health care system even if they are expensive' some 56% of us 'totally agree', which is one of the lower figures.

As cynics realists will have guessed, there is rarely a Eurobarometer poll which does not include a push question for an EU landgrab, and here it is:  'should there be more European co-operation in order to help the limited numbers of people suffering from rare diseases more efficiently'.  We have one of the lower 'total agreement' figures at 58% to the EU average of 66% and the Cypriot peak of 91%. 

Mapping the demon drink

An amusing map of worldwide alcohol preferences, as found at Libération, which found it at WHO, apparently

Tipples of choice:

(Click for improved visibility)

Note that much of the Islamic world passes the threshold of the equivalant of 0.1 litres of pure alcohol per head, including Our Friends the Saudis, who opt for spirits.  And I refuse to believe there are no figures for Greenland - I think WHO did not try.  I am at a loss to know why Mozambicans opt for spirits over beer or palm wine.  

Figures for what we British types get up to are available here, not that they are very interesting, bar just under 21% of British men being de facto non-drinkers, as are 36% of British women