 Membership of the new House of Commons was overwhelmingly made up of pro @-@ coalition MPs , and there was therefore a large number of eligible members for the government posts to be filled . In Dutton 's phrase , " it would have been easy for Dunglass to have languished indefinitely in backbench obscurity . " However , Skelton , appointed as Under @-@ secretary at the Scottish Office , offered Dunglass the unpaid post of unofficial parliamentary aide . This was doubly advantageous to Dunglass . Any MP appointed as official Parliamentary Private Secretary ( PPS ) to a government minister was privy to the inner workings of government but was expected to maintain a discreet silence in the House of Commons . Dunglass achieved the first without having to observe the second . He made his maiden speech in February 1932 on the subject of economic policy , advocating a cautiously protectionist approach to cheap imports . He countered Labour 's objection that this would raise the cost of living , arguing that a tariff " stimulates employment and gives work [ and ] increases the purchasing power of the people by substituting wages for unemployment benefit . " 
