§ Lord Kilbrackenasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they will show how the purchasing power of the pound has varied by means of a table showing its value on 1st January (or any other convenient date) every 50 years from 1500 to 1800, every ten years from 1800 to 1910, and every second year from then until the present date, on the basis of a value of 100 in 1939.
§ The Secretary of State for Employment (Lord Young of Graffham)Comparisons of the purchasing power of the pound over long periods can only be regarded as approximate because of changes in the types and characteristics of goods and services which consumers can buy. Official price indices were not compiled for the earlier periods. The available1388WA estimates based on the retail prices index and its precursors are as follows:—
Purchasing powerª of the pound (£) 1916 to 1986 for January of each year taking January 1939 = 100.
Year Index Year Index 1916 115 1952 58 1918 84 1954 55 1920 69 1956 50 1922 81 1958 46 1924 88 1960 45 1926 89 1962 42 1928 92 1964 41 1930 93 1966 37 1932 106 1968 35 1934 109 1970 31 1936 106 1972 27 1938 97 1974 22 1940 89 1976 15 1942 78 1978 12 1944 77 1980 9.0 1946 76 1982 7.1 1948 73 1984 6.5 1950 68 1986 5.8 ªInterpreted, for example, as follows:—
one pound in January 1986 would buy just under 6 per cent. of the volume of goods and services that one pound would have bought in January 1939.