Tories and the Pound
7_11_11 1.11] C-7
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From : Lord Boothby, Olga Franklin, William Simpson, Leslie G. H. Collins, Professor H. C. McLaren, Mrs M. Vaughan, V. A. Sykes, Mrs Anthony Thwaite, David Wolfers, John Robin- son.
SIR,-1 agree with much of Mr Hugh Fraser's article in last week's issue about Tories and the pound, but he makes one statement which cannot be allowed to pass. In 1931,' he writes, 'at the height of another economic crisis, we had the faith and courage to set the pound free and let it float.' We had no such thing. The so-called 'National' Government was formed with the avowed object of keeping us on the gold standard at the pre-war parity of exchange; and Snowden's savage budget and Economy Bill were designed to do just this. Mercifully, they did not succeed. We were kicked off the gold standard, squealing with terror, by a run on the pound without precedent and beyond control. Economic recovery then began.
It could happen again.
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