Login: dolan                            Name: 
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Plan:
Mr. Speaker:

On Friday evening last I received His Majesty's commission to form a new 
Administration. It was the evident wish and will of Parliament and the nation
that
this should be conceived on the broadest possible basis and that it should
include
all parties, both those who supported the late Government and also the parties
of the
Opposition.

I have completed the most important part of this task. A War Cabinet has been
formed
of five Members, representing, with the Labour Opposition, the unity of the
nation.
The three party Leaders have agreed to serve, either in the War Cabinet or in
high
executive office. The three Fighting Services have been filled. It was necessary
that
this should be done in one single day, on account of the extreme urgency and
rigour
of events. A number of other key positions were filled yesterday, and I am
submitting
a further list to His Majesty tonight. I hope to complete the appointment of the
principal Ministers during tomorrow. The appointment of the other Ministers
usually
takes a little longer, but I trust that when Parliament meets again, this part
of my
task will be completed and that the Administration will be complete in all
respects.

Sir, I considered it in the public interest to suggest that the House should be 
summoned to meet today. Mr. Speaker agreed and took the necessary steps, in 
accordance with the powers conferred upon him by the Resolution of the House. At
the
end of the proceedings today, the Adjournment of the House will be proposed
until
Tuesday, the 21st of May, with, of course, provision for earlier meeting, if
need be.
The business to be considered during that week will be notified to Members at
the
earliest opportunity. I now invite the House, by the Resolution which stands in
my
name, to record its approval of the steps taken and to declare its confidence in
the
new Government.

Sir, to form an Administration of this scale and complexity is a serious
undertaking
in itself, but it must be remembered that we are in the preliminary stage of one
of
the greatest battles in history, that we are in action at many points in Norway
and
in Holland, that we have to be prepared in the Mediterranean, that the air
battle is
continuous and that many preparations have to be made here at home. In this
crisis I
hope I may be pardoned if I do not address the House at any length today. I hope
that
any of my friends and colleagues, or former colleagues, who are affected by the 
political reconstruction, will make all allowances for any lack of ceremony with
which it has been necessary to act. I would say to the House, as I said to those
who
have joined the government: "I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and 
sweat."

We have before us an ordeal of the most grievous kind. We have before us many,
many
long months of struggle and of suffering. You ask, what is our policy? I will
say: It
is to wage war, by sea, land and air, with all our might and with all the
strength
that God can give us; to wage war against a monstrous tyranny, never surpassed
in the
dark and lamentable catalogue of human crime. That is our policy. You ask, what
is
our aim? I can answer in one word: victory. Victory at all costs, victory in
spite of
all terror, victory, however long and hard the road may be; for without victory,
there is no survival. Let that be realised; no survival for the British Empire,
no
survival for all that the British Empire has stood for, no survival for the urge
and
impulse of the ages, that mankind will move forward towards its goal.

But I take up my task with buoyancy and hope. I feel sure that our cause will
not be
suffered to fail among men. At this time I feel entitled to claim the aid of
all, and
I say, "Come then, let us go forward together with our united strength."