Personal Savings (Hansard, 13 May 1958)

§ 20. Captain Pilkington
asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer the percentage increase in personal savings from 1946 to 1951 and from 1951 to 1957.

Mr. Amory
Personal saving, before providing for depreciation and stock appreciation, fell by 75 per cent. between 1946 and 1948, rose by nearly 150 per cent. between 1948 and 1951, and rose by over 600 per cent. between 1951 and 1957.

§ Captain Pilkington
Would my right hon. Friend like to express his great satisfaction at this sign of confidence in the Conservative Government?

Mr. Amory
Yes. I find that very agreeable indeed, and I hope that the trend will steadily improve.

Mr. H. Wilson
Would not the right hon. Gentleman agree that his hon. and gallant Friend must be rather hard up for propaganda material if he is trying to draw attention to the fact that savings were inevitably low in a period just after the war, when hundreds of thousands of people were setting up homes for the first time and were also able to buy goods which were coming on to the market for the first time after the war?