Oral Answers to Questions — National Finance – in the House of Commons at 12:00 am on 24 April 1947.
Sir Allan Noble
, Chelsea
12:00,
24 April 1947
asked the Chancellor of the exchequer how many dollars have been spent during the last year on the import from the U.S.A. of pure silk stockings.
Mr Hugh Dalton
, Bishop Auckland
3,810 dollars in the year ending February, 1947.
Sir Arthur Harvey
, Macclesfield
Will the Chancellor of the exchequer give an assurance that he will save dollars by ceasing to buy silk stockings from America, and encourage our own industry to get on with the job itself?
Mr Hugh Dalton
, Bishop Auckland
The total amount of dollars at issue is a little less than £1,000.
Sir Arthur Harvey
, Macclesfield
This year?
Mr Hugh Dalton
, Bishop Auckland
This year; as I have already announced, we shall soon see in the shops, I hope, some very excellent home-made silk stockings and some may come from the hon. and gallant Gentleman's Constituency for all I know to the contrary.
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.
In a general election, each Constituency chooses an MP to represent them. MPs have a responsibility to represnt the views of the Constituency in the House of Commons. There are 650 Constituencies, and thus 650 MPs. A citizen of a Constituency is known as a Constituent
