The Week in Parliament
A Producers' Policy
APACKED House assembled on Tuesday to hear Mr. Churchill inaugurate a Producers' Policy which must now be regarded as the basis of the Unionist Party's programme for the future, and which will certainly dominate the political scene for several years to come.
The Chancellor of the Exchequer spoke for over three hours, and the range and sweep of his observations, coupled with the grasp he maintained throughout upon The central and dominant theme, evoked spontaneous and widespread admiration. As is his custom, he martialled and deployed his argumentative forces with rare skill. But upon this occasion, owing to the number t and importance of the subjects with which he dealt, and the magnitude of the issues he raised, it may be said that he excelled himself. The construction of his speech was rnaiterly in the extreme ; the argument closely knit throughout : the delivery forceful and convincing. It was an oratorical triumph, in certain aspects greater than any he has hitherto achieved in this Parliament, and probably in the -whole of his political career.
The House listened- with. :subdued interest to that section of the BUdget Statement which dealt with the establishment of a fixed debt` charge, the amalgamation of the note issues, and the new form in which the national accounts are to be presented. Some -well-deserved cheers greeted Mr. Churchill's account of the radical economies he has been able to effect in administration, and the proposed reduction of the Civil Staffs.
But it was the overwhelming attack upon our existing system of local rating, its inherent viciousness, and its dire results, that stirred members in all parts to enthus- iasm. This was the most striking and dramatic passage in the whole speech, and amply repays the closest study on the part of all those who are interested in modern economic and political developments. The announcement that the scheme of rating relief would not come into operation until next year evoked some Labour jeers and induced the Chancellor to warn Labour members that if their " intemperate and precipitate mood " was a true indication of their subsequent attitude towards a vast scheme of constructive social reform, then " we will advance against you with the utmost vigour."
The introduction of a little heat into the proceedings did no harm, and the Chancellor soon resumed the " even tenour of his way " and continued to stride down the main highway of his theme.
The fuel tax of 4d. a gallon to be imposed at once reduced those who had been inclined to regard the proposals as nebulous to thoughtful silence. And, with that, members were dispatched to the smoking-rooms for' a brief :rest and some much-needed refreshMent. They returned dazed, but fortified, to find Mr. Churchill outlining with evident zest a gigantic scheme of rating relief and reform,- far exceeding in scope and magnitude the wildest expectations. After this the increase in children's allowances (" another application of our general policy of helping the producer ") came as a welcome diversion, and members returned home to well-earned dinners, somewhat stunned, but not unhappy.
There is a general consensus of opinion that this Budget is by far the most important and ambitious since 1909. As I stated at the beginning, it does not merely make financial proposals. It inaugurates a policy. This policy will be the main issue at the next election. And to it the Unionist Party is deeply committed, and, it is already 'clear, gladly committed. It has returned to its first love—the producer—after a separation which in the opinion of many of its supporters has lasted far too long. For the essential merit of this policy is that it strikes a juster balance not only between road and rail, but between producer and rentier.
Upon the details of the scheme which underlies the wide policy of relief to the producer as such, I do not propose now to dwell. The object, according to the Chancellor, is to impart a real stimulus to the basic industries and to production generally. There seems little doubt that that object will be substantially achieved. There is hardly a single major aspect of our economic problem upon which Mr. Churchill did not touch, but there are some phrases which are worth rescuing before they are lost among the many proposals of the scheme. " The opportunity of rate relief ought to be used by every depressed industry to set its house in order. In coal, cotton, iron and steel, very great efforts, quite apart from any outside assistance, are needed at the present time. . . . Capital and Labour should take occasion by the hand and endeavour to turn a substantial aid to permanent effect."
The importance of these sentiments cannot be exaggerated, and should not be overlooked. Taken as a whole, the scheme is welcomed by the Unionists, and is not unpopular with the Socialists. Mr. Lloyd George will try to get some votes out of it if he can.
A criticism that has reached me from several quarters is that all productive industry is not placed on the same footing. Under the present arrangement, although immense reductions will be obtained, the most depressed industries will still pay the highest rates. This is a matter of detail, but it is not unimportant. A solution of the problem may be reached during the discussions in the House which will now begin. But if it is found- impossible to secure equal treatment for all industries, the complete derating of productive industry will probably be pressed for when the country's finances render it possible. Such a suggestion would have been laughed out of court a week ago. The fact that it can now be entertained is some indication of the magnitude and even audacity of the scheme already adumbrated. Of the principal actor in Tuesday's drama, this much may be said, that by providing his party with a broad, constructive policy, by launching a brave scheme designed to hasten the solution of our gravest industrial problems, and, by lifting political controversy on to an altogether higher, and a national, plane, Mr. Churchill has added one more—it may well be the greatest—to' the many and distinguished services he has rendered to-
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