But a much more important part of his speech was
his statement that he hoped the next Budget would be for 940 or
950 million pounds. An important task immediately before the Government, he said, was the reform of the House of Lords. " When this has been accomplished the Government will have carried out their programme, and they will then sing theft Nunc Dimittis." It is certainly a triumph for those bent on economy that Sir George Younger has committed himself to a reasonable figure for the Budget. A great change has taken place. A Government spokesman now begins at the right end. He estimates how much there is to spend, and lays it down that more than that cannot be spent. This means, in effect, rationing. He did not follow the futile practice of taking items of public expenditure one by one and saying, " These are all necessary. They are in accordance with our political promises. How on earth can we cut them down any further ? "
