§ Mr. Lewisasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer the relative purchasing power of a Member of Parliament's salary for each month from April, 1946, taking the £ as being worth 20s. in April, 1946, and basing the calculations on the Interim Index of Retail Prices of the Ministry of Labour.
§ Mr. Boyd-CarpenterThe following are the figures for each month from June, 1947, the base month of the Interim Index of Retail Prices. I regret that there is no comparable monthly index for the period between April, 1946, and June, 1947:
other paid office-holders in the House is 66, that the amount of Parliamentary salary payable to Ministers and others on salaries of less than £5,000 would remain at £500, and that all Members entitled to draw full Parliamentary salary would do so, the gross annual cost would be £254,345.