From the archive: Scottish position - 7 July, 1931

Published on 07/07/2012 00:00

NOT without misgiving, all parties in the Commons agreed to the second reading of the Bill to continue for a year the seven-and-a-half-hour day in the coal mines.

It will go to the House of Lords, and will become law tomorrow. The explanation of this rush lay in the fact that without amending legislation the miners would legally return to the seven-hour day established by the Act of 1919. In present economic conditions, that was conceded to be impossible without a reduction of wages, which nobody wanted, although in the case of Scotland, it appeared to be taken for granted that a reduction was inevitable. The Prime Minister carefully avoided that aspect. Major Colville, however, brought out that the average wage of the Scottish miner would be reduced by 5s. a week. Miss Jenny Lee also seemed anxious about the Scottish position and failed to draw any comfort from her front bench.