§ 25. Mr. Kaufmanasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the purchasing power of the £ sterling now, taking it as 100p on 18th June, 1970.
§ Mr. HigginsI would refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the 226 hon. Member for Newcastle-under-Lyme (Mr. Golding) on 23rd April.—[Vol. 815, c. 480.]
§ Mr. KaufmanIs the hon. Gentleman aware that the furtiveness of that reply conceals the fact that since the Government came to power and pursued the inflationary policies for which they are responsible a man on average earnings has lost £1.68 from his pay packet and that by the time the old-age pensioners finally get their long-delayed increase next September the value of that £1 increase will be only 23½p? Will he convey this to the Prime Minister so that the Prime Minister does not issue another peevish statement saying that no one ever told him?
§ Mr. HigginsI am surprised that the hon. Gentleman has the nerve to refer to the pound in the pocket, since the last Government undertook the inflationary policies which we are determined to control.