Rising Prices

Part of the debate – in the House of Commons at 12:00 am on 11 May 1965.

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Photo of Mr Cyril Osborne Mr Cyril Osborne , Louth Borough 12:00, 11 May 1965

I do not care who did it. I hate to see a proud and great nation like ours go round the world cadging for money.

A special correspondent of The Times, reporting from Cannes, said that the French Finance Minister said that the Chancellor's target would be achieved by early 1966. On the same day the Chancellor told me that it would be the end of 1966. Surely we are entitled to know which is correct.

Last weekend the Paris correspondent of the Sunday Times quoted the Chancellor as indicating that the deficit would be completely eliminated by the middle of 1966. This is such an important problem and point that the Committee is entitled to know what are the Government's intentions. What do they hope to achieve by the end of next year, by the middle or by the beginning? Furthermore, it was also stated in The Times that the Chancellor had given to the overseas Finance Ministers a schedule of his programme—times and amounts by which we should recover. If the right hon. Gentleman has given that information to the Finance Ministers we in this country ought to have it—we ought to have it in the House.

The Times quoted the French Foreign Minister as saying that if the present measures being taken by the Chancellor are not successful, other and sterner measures would be taken. The House of Commons is the place where we should be told about that. We should not have to read it in the papers, or as written by the Paris correspondent of The Times. We are entitled to be told. I ask: may we have these full details on this issue?

There are two other aspects on the issue of the 7 per cent. Bank Rate. We cannot have lower prices until we get the Bank Rate down. This is a money-lenders' paradise which the Socialist Government have created.

I should like to turn to two other aspects of the problem of housing——