HC Deb 11 November 1947 vol 444 cc198-9
48. Mr. De la Bère

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether, with a view to clarifying the whole position he will now issue a comprehensive statement showing the use to which the drawings on the American Loan have been put; and the total amount of the Loan which has been utilised for convertibility from sterling to dollars.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer (Mr. Dalton)

I would refer the hon. Member to the statement which I made in the House on Friday, 24th October.

Mr. De la Bère

Can the right hon. Gentleman tell us why this Government, which professes to be democratic, continually refuses to disclose information which the public is fully entitled to have; and is he aware that his statement did not give us all the information which we are entitled to expect to have on this all-important question?

Mr. Dalton

I think the statement, together with certain questions that I have answered since that time, gives the hon. Gentleman all the information for which he is asking here.

Mr. De la Bère

Will not the right hon. Gentleman reconsider that? Because we are supposed to be democratic, and it really is not democratic to refuse this information when it is asked for. It is undemocratic.