BRITISH BUDGET

Press, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 25345, 19 November 1947, Page 6

BRITISH BUDGET

REPLY TO DEBATE BY NEW CHANCELLOR appeal for savings (NZ. Press Association— Copyright) (Rec Bp.m.) LONDON. November 18_ -I ain in full agreement with the proposals which my predecessor put forward in this Budget, said the n w Chancellor of the Exchequer (Sir Stafford Cripps), replying to the Budget debate in the House of Comm Sir - Stafford Cripps said that Dr. Hugh Dalton, by his final acL-his resignation after the disclosure of Budget information —had decisi'.’ely underlined the highest standard o British democracy and the honourable conduct of British statesmen and P °Stepl an were being taken in this Budget to reduce the volume of J” 0 ”®? available for spending, but that was only a part of what Britain could and Sid P do. said Sir Stafford Cripps. Increased production was vital,. not only for the export drive but to counter the inflationary tendency. It is quite clear that the inflationary tendency is largely in the area where money is available for capital goods, he said. The Government did not want to be driven to more control by the misuse of individual freedom. It was Britain’s pride as a democracy that the individual was left with as large a degree of freedom as was compatible with the national interest. Nevertheless the possibility of continuing that degree of freedom in a condition of economic stability depended upon the restraint with which the individual made use>of that freedom, especially in times of national difficulty. • “I appeal to the whole nation to help voluntarily in the cutting of unnecessary expenditure by investing their savings in Government securities," said Sir Stafford Cripps. The Government, just as much as the individual. had to avoid unnecessary expenditure. The Treasury, by next April, would doubtless be able to see how successful the attempt to restrict expenditure had been. Sir Stafford Cripps said the Government did not regard expenditure on social services as unnecessary or a luxury, neither did it regard the maintenance of the standard of living and housing for the lower income groups as unnecessary extravagance. Food subsidies were a most material factor in Britain’s policy of making rationed foods available for all sections of the population, and had been responsible for the remarkable smoothness of progress in the industrial field. “We believe it is wise to maintain the food subsidies within the limits which Dr. Dalton has stated,” he said. He thought the present Budget would hold the situation until April. He announced only one alteration in Dr. Dalton’s Budget provisions. He said it had been decided that it would be unfair to include bicycles and tricycles in the new purchase tax increases. (The tax on . bicycles was increased in Dr. Dalton’s Budget from 33 l-3‘ to 50 per cent.) The ordinary cycle was now almost exclusively used for business purposes, and the Government was taking appropriate steps to avoid the penalising of cyclists (cheers).