Economic Planning

Press, Volume LXXXVI, Issue 26092, 20 April 1950, Page 5

Economic Planning

Sir Stafford Cripps warned the House of Commons that a further decrease in dollar spending w-as essential if Britain’s financial position was to improve. Britain had made a satisfactory beginning in the recovery of her gold and dollar reserves. These were a little bigger than last year, but they were still inadequate. After reviewing Britain’s economic position, the Chancellor said that democratic planning was absolutely vital to a continuance of democratic freedom in the world. “Our aim is to create a happy country in which there is equality of opportunity and not too great a disparity of personal incomes—a country in which every man and woman can feel they are welcomed and have a full part to play,” he continued. It was basic to that kind of life that •there should be full employment and full participation by workers in the industrial life of the community. It was not possible or desirable in such a democratically-planned economy to use the violent compulsions appropriate to totalitarian planning. Most of the controls of the British economy must be accomplished by agreement, persuasion, consultation, and other free democratic methods.

Sir Stafford Cripps said- “Some controls are acceptable to a democracy—rationing is a good example. We have been able, by controls, to prevent many undesirable economic results which would in these post-war years have militated against the achievement of our aims.

“Because of this combination of moderate controls, democratically accepted by the nation, and the people’s willingness to follow voluntarily the directions set out, we have, in fact, succeeded in a large measure—a very large measure—in keeping to the direct path of economic progress that we had planned in this post-war period.”