HC Deb 07 August 1941 vol 373 cc2096-7
71. Major Stourton

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he is aware of the tendency to currency inflation shown by increasing war expenditure, contraction of weekly savings totals, and progressive expansion of the note issue; and whether he will take steps, apart from increased savings by the public, to check the spiral of wages chasing prices by following a policy of rigid price stabilisation coupled with the pegging of wage rates at a reasonable level?

The Chancellor of the Exchequer (Sir Kingsley Wood)

I cannot accept the implications in the first part of my hon. Friend's Question. As regards the second part, I would refer him to the statement on price stabilisation and industrial policy recently issued by the Government.

Major Stourton

Is my right hon. Friend aware that there is a good deal of public anxiety on this issue, and that there is a feeling that greater efforts should be made by the Government, while there is still time to do so, to prevent further inflation?

Sir K. Wood

I hope that this answer will do something to dispel that anxiety.