Small Cheer

Chancellor of the Exchequer Sir Stafford Cripps strode briskly into a crowded House of Commons one afternoon last week to read the Labor government's budget for 1950-51. Boyishly, Cripps slapped his battered red leather dispatch case onto the table, grinned as he began a long review of Britain's economic position. He spoke steadily for two hours and 17 minutes, pausing only twice for bird-like sips from a glass of orange juice and honey. At the end of the first hour the drama had been squeezed out of the annual rite; some members' heads were nodding. Winston Churchill fidgeted fretfully, first slumping down in his seat, then drawing himself bolt upright to peer dully at the green carpet between his feet. When Cripps finished, there were only two cheerful men in the chamber--Cripps himself and Tory Chief Lord Woolton, who smiled down blandly from the gallery.

Actually, Sir Stafford's budget contained small cause for cheer. There were minor income-tax cuts. The purchase tax on higher-priced (over -L-1,000) autos was cut from 66 2/3% to 33 1/3%. The tax on gasoline was boosted nine pence a gallon. Additional taxes were imposed on bookmakers, trucks and company bonuses to executives. Teetotaler Cripps had a bit of cheer for many Britons: he could not cut the tax on beer, but he could promise better beer at the same price. This year's beer, said Sir Stafford, would be 10% stronger than before (but still only half as strong as prewar).

Sir Stafford's new budget was just more of the old austerity.

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