§ 10. Mr. Chapmanasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what increase in exports, what reductions in imports, and what easing of the balance of payments position have taken place following the special measures introduced for this purpose in the recent emergency Budget.
§ Mr. H. MacmillanI have nothing to add to what I told the House on Friday, and during the course of yesterday's debate.
§ Mr. ChapmanDoes that Answer mean that the last Budget was a waste of time, and that no beneficial results can be traced to it?
§ Mr. MacmillanNo, Sir. The hon. Gentleman has drawn a wrong conclusion from an insufficient premise.
§ 11. Mr. Chapmanasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what decline in home consumption has followed, and is now expected, from the measures introduced in the recent emergency Budget; and how far he estimates the new wage demands made since the Budget will affect the position.
§ 25. Mr. Lewisasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer with what success the autumn Budget has achieved the objective of curbing inflation, reducing the cost of living and restoring the purchasing power of the pound.
§ Mr. H. MacmillanIt is too early to judge the full effects of the autumn Budget. Complete estimates of consumers' expenditure are not yet available 174 for the fourth quarter of 1955, and it is not yet possible to assess the effect of wage demands made since the Budget.
§ Mr. ChapmanIs it not clear that wage demands were provoked by that Budget, and is it not also clear from this morning's meeting of the T.U.C. that there is likely to be another round of wage demands arising out of the failure of the Government to consult the trade unions before making their policies known?
§ Mr. MacmillanNo, Sir. I was very much impressed with rather the opposite in yesterday's debate, and I should like to recognise the spirit in which the right hon. Member for Huyton (Mr. H. Wilson) responded to my appeal.