Britain's Problem In 'Grave Situation

Northern Advocate, 23 January 1947, Page 5

Britain's Problem In 'Grave Situation

(Received 1 p.m. )

LONDON, January 22.

DISCUSSING the “really grave situation,” Sir Stafford Cripps told a Bradford conference of employers and employees that Britain’s problem was: •

“We have more jobs to do, and we want to do them more quickly than is possible with available resources.”

The Government regarded good relations between management and labour as the first essential.

It was also necessary to bring the principles of management up to date and to persuade employers and employees to discard old ideas based on fear of recurrent periods of low production and unemployment.

All must subordinate particular interests to national necessity in order to meet the “very tough struggle ahead for two or three years at least.”

Britain’s exports for December, according to the Board of Trade, were 3 per cent greater than the monthly average of 1938. Tiro best month in 1946 was July, when exports were 20 per cent greater than the 1938 average.

The value of exports was £83.000.000, which was £9,000,000 less than in November.

Imports were of a value oi £117.000.000, which was £7,000,000 less than in November.

Imports to the value of £5,000,000 were re-exported. Values for 1946 were: Imports, £1.293,000,000; re-exports, £50,000,000; experts. £912,000,000; visible adverse balance, £336,000,000.

The value Of 1946 exports of goods produced or manufactured in the United Kingdom, at £911,700.000, was nearly double the 1938 figure of £478.000,000, and was the highest ever recorded except for 1920, but the volume of exports was no higher than in 1938.

The Government aims at increasing the volume by 75 per cent over prewar figures. Iron and steel exports to India. Australia and New Zealand were much lower than before the war. India continued to be the largest market for machinery, with South Africa second. Australia took 13,835 of 16.608 motor car chassis that Britain exported. New Zealand took 7096 motor cars.

Exports of imported merchandise totalled £50.300.000 against £61,500,000 in 1938, but reduction of volume was nearly three-fifths.