§ 53. Mr. Tinkerasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much of the £24,000,000,000 required for the five years of war has been met by taxation and how much by borrowing; and what 628 is the total of the National Debt now and the increase since the war started.
§ Sir J. AndersonAs was stated by my right hon. Friend the Financial Secretary to the Treasury on 20th October last, the figure of £24,000,000,000 is the figure of our total expenditure during the five years of war up to 2nd September, 1944; the amount of expenditure on war services in the same period was approximately £20,000,000,000. Of the total expenditure in the first five years of war, £11,234,000,000 was met by taxation and other revenue and £12,659,000,000 by borrowing. The total of the National Debt at 30th September, 1944, was approximately £21,200,000,000, an increase of £12,800,000,000 since the beginning of the war.
§ Mr. BowlesDoes not the right hon. Gentleman think that the period in office of the Conservative Party for the eight years before the war was very expensive indeed?