– in the House of Commons at on 16 April 1929.
Commander Hon. Joseph Kenworthy
, Kingston upon Hull Central
asked the Chancellor of the exchequer whether the financial agreement between England and Egypt will be submitted to this House?
Mr Winston Churchill
, Epping
No, Sir. The agreement came into force immediately on its acceptance by the two Governments and does not require Parliamentary ratification. The agreement has been printed and presented to Parliament as Command Paper No. 3305.
Commander Hon. Joseph Kenworthy
, Kingston upon Hull Central
Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that, under the Egyptian Constitution, it requires to be ratified by the Egyptian Parliament; and how does he know that it will be so ratified? Will he give me his opinion on the matter?
Mr Winston Churchill
, Epping
I am afraid that I can only answer for His Majesty's Government.
Mr Ernest Thurtle
, Shoreditch
Is the right hon. Gentleman not aware that the Egyptian Constitution has been suspended; and has that fact been taken into consideration by His Majesty's Government?
Mr Winston Churchill
, Epping
This is a very proper arrangement in every way, and it conforms entirely to the high standard of international equity; and, as an arrangement has been made which we regard as satisfactory, and which the Egyptian Government regard as satisfactory, I do not see why there should be any trouble about it.
Mr Neil Maclean
, Glasgow Govan
Arising out of the original reply, may I take it that the financial arrangement mentioned between England and Egypt does not involve Scotland and Wales?
Mr Winston Churchill
, Epping
If there are certain occasions on which England never should be mentioned, and if we on this occasion have stepped outside our proper bounds, it is by inadvertence.
Commander Hon. Joseph Kenworthy
, Kingston upon Hull Central
May I ask whether when this agreement was pending the right hon. Gentleman had any knowedge of the representative character of the Ministers who made it on the Egyptian side?
Mr Winston Churchill
, Epping
Yes, Sir; and, on the whole, I think they were representative of real Egyptian feeling.
The chancellor of the exchequer is the government's chief financial minister and as such is responsible for raising government revenue through taxation or borrowing and for controlling overall government spending.
The chancellor's plans for the economy are delivered to the House of Commons every year in the Budget speech.
The chancellor is the most senior figure at the Treasury, even though the prime minister holds an additional title of 'First Lord of the Treasury'. He normally resides at Number 11 Downing Street.
