The Week in Parliament Our Parliamentary Correspondent writes : The
Govern. Merit's decision to drop its project of an aircraft factory near Maidenhead • was universally welcome: That a Ministry which is now devoting special attention to the needs of the special areas, and which is considering ways of diverting new industries there, should propose still further to swell the inflated industrial district around London had surprised and alarmed even its most loyal supporters. Feeling against the project was almost as strong among Conservatives as in Liberal and Labour circles and Was vigorously expressed at a meeting of Government back-benchers upstairs. The incident, now happily over, shows two things. Firstly, that every Government is still amenable to the pressure of public opinion expressed through members of Parliament, even where the vital issue of national security is involved. Second, that apart from rearmament and foreign affairs, the foremost question of the day, in the opinion of the rank and file of all parties, is the fate of the distressed areas.
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