§ 97. Mr. Harrisonasked the President of the Board of Trade the comparative figures, indicating the standard of living of British manual workers, between the two great wars, full weight being given to short time and unemployment; and the figures for the present time and any other figures material to the recent statement regarding the higher standard of living in this country than most other places.
§ Mr. MarquandA comparison between the average weekly earnings of British workers in October, 1938, and January, 1946, shows a rise of 74 per cent. Since September, 1939, the Ministry of Labour's cost of living index number shows an increase of 31 per cent. The rise in money earnings, therefore, has considerably outstripped the rise in the cost of living and in real terms there has been a substantial improvement in the earnings of British manual workers since prewar years. It is not possible to give figures to show the changes in the consumption of British manual workers, but I would refer my hon. Friend to the figures given by my right hon. Friend the Minister of Food in his reply on 23rd October, 1946, to my hon. Friend the Member for Lowestoft (Mr. Edward Evans).
It was generally recognized before the war that the British wage earner had on the average a standard of living higher than most other countries and comparable with the standard in any country. Since prewar years the standard of living in other countries, with very few exceptions, has not risen appreciably, and the figures which I have just quoted are a sufficient indication of the improvement that has taken place in the position of the British worker. There is no reason to suppose, therefore, that the standard of living in Britain has ceased to be higher than in most other places.