Orders of the Day — Budget Proposals and Economic Survey

Part of the debate – in the House of Commons at 12:00 am on 8 April 1948.

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Photo of Sir George Benson Sir George Benson , Chesterfield 12:00, 8 April 1948

If increased wage demands are to come from a penny a pint on beer and 2d. on tobacco what increased wage demands will come from an increase of 25 per cent. in the cost of basic foods? However, I will get on to something less controversial for a moment. It has been said that this is an anti-inflationary Budget. Within certain limits it is, but I suggest that those limits are very narrow. I further suggest that they have been designed specifically to deal with inflation arising from one cause, and only one cause. There has been a great deal of loose talk about deficits and surpluses and bogus surpluses. I think we ought to analyse what we mean by all this. The right hon. Gentleman the Member for the Scottish Universities suggested that £50 million from the levy was not anti-inflationary—