The Government supporters on the whole, however, accepted the proposals
as a regrettable necessity. They followed in silence but with the closest attention the very clear exposition of the Chancellor. For every course of action he was able to present a wealth of argument so detailed and convincing that it seemed to have a visible impact on the minds of his audience. He wisely attempted no purple patches nor self-conscious humour, nor Party scores. It was more the speech of the chairman of a bank than that of a Party politician. His ending was parti- cularly effective, for in his most incisive manner he developed a comparison of 1932 with 1986, showing the gradual return of prosperity founded on tariffs and cheap money, and bringing with it an expansion of the social services, remissions of £50,000,000 in taxation, and the repayment of £70,000,000 in debt. It was a salutary reminder of the essential buoyancy of our revenue in comparison with the desperate economic plight of so many of our neighbours.
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