The doctrine that" The House of Commons is a Council
of State " is rather profitable to the National Government, for it has little to fear when no vital issues divide the parties. It will always win elections so long as Government and Opposition appear to be no more than an assembly of practical men gener- ously co-operating with each other in hammering out the details of policies which have been agreed in principle. From this point of view the Government has served its propagandists well in following up last week's Physical Training and Army Reserves Bills with the Factories Bill of last Thursday. Mr. Greenwood did his best to arouse party passion on the ques- tions of women's overtime, the 40-hour week for adult workers, and annual holidays with pay. One wonders why a man of such long experience must still bounce about like a pavement toy when addressing the House. In any case he met with little success. If Sir John Simon was right in his typically able speech, this Bill will reduce permissible overtime for women workers in non-textile factories from 624 to too hours per year. Neither Mr. Greenwood nor anyone else will rouse the nation by proposing in committee to "leave out ' too ' and insert 50 '." And as to the 40-hour week and holidays with pay, there is really no answer to Mr. Geoffrey Lloyd, who said it would be a pity, by including these provi- sions in a factory bill, to confine their benefits only to factory workers.
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