The Silence of Sir Stafford Cripps
The Chancellor of the Exchequer is not an unduly taciturn man. He does not retreat into silence when his duty impels him to proclaim the most unpleasant truths. On Sunday, when he spoke at Work- ington, he did not hesitate to tell a Labour Party audience in a development area that new wage-demands at this moment would be short-sighted, unfair, ignorant and quite possibly deliberately mischievous. Such a statement, to people who have lived most of their lives in the shadow of chronic unemployment and whose urge to make hay while the sun shines must be all but irresistible, required courage. So did the restatement of the list of economic priorities—exports first, capital investment second and personal consumption last. Everything the Chancellor said was clear, hard, and unpalatable to his audience—except one thing. He disclosed that subsidies were running at a level of k500 million a year. It no doubt befits the dispenser of a gift of Lro per head of the popula- tion to be modest about it. But it does not befit a responsible Minister, a realistic economist, and an honest man to be silent about its implications. Subsidies to consumers began as a temporary war- time measure. How many people know that they have more than doubled (from £225 million to about k500 million a year) since the war ended ? How many people realise that, if the present policy of the Government is not changed, they will go on rising still ? And how many people have been reminded by the Chancellor of the Exchequer that this great slice of the national expenditure is a main contributory cause of inflation ? Can it be that in this case Sir Stafford Cripps has managed to stifle his conscience and evade the plain course of duty, which is to cut down, or at least to hold down, subsidies ? Even Mr. Dalton, in April, 1947, when the budget
figure for subsidies was £4a5 million, hinted that the time had come to draw the line. Sir Stafford Cripps always speaks the truth and nothing but the truth. It is time he decided to speak the whole truth, even though the General Election is getting nearer.
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