§ Mr. Bidwellasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will give the value of the £ sterling in relation to the gold £ in August 1914 and its purchasing power for each five years subsequently, i.e., 1919, 1924, 1929, 1934, 1939, 1944, 1949, 1954, 1959, 1964, 1969, and 1974, taking 100 as its norm in August 1914.
§ Mr. Robert SheldonTaking the internal purchasing power of the £ as 100p in 1914, its value in each of the following years is estimated to have been:
1914 100p 1919 46 1924 57 1929 61 1934 71 1938* 64 1946* 38 1949 32 1954 26 1959 23 1964 20 1969 16 1974 (Sept.) 10 Source: The leaflet on "Internal Purchasing Power of the Pound" (October 1974) issued by the Central Statistical Office.
* Figures for 1939 and 1944 are not available.
Except for 1974 the figures do not refer to specific months in the years shown.
Because of continual changes in the pattern of consumers' or household expenditure, estimates of change over long periods in purchasing power can only be regarded as approximate. Over a period as long 195W as 60 years, when the pattern of expenditure has changed very considerably, and when the current pattern includes purchases of many goods and services which were not available earlier, estimates of change should be regarded as only impressionistic.