However, the commission held that retention of the seven-hour working day would entail some reduction in wages because of the prevailing economic crisis, in which the most serious issue was the falling price index. Samuel's commission made proposals which were mostly in favour of the miners, especially rejection of the mineowners' demand for longer hours at less pay. Churchill agreed and the total subsidy paid was calculated to be £19 million. While the commission deliberated, Baldwin asked Churchill to introduce a subsidy for the mining industry to prevent the reduction of wages as a result of lower income. Its report was not presented until 11 March 1926, six weeks before Churchill's second budget (on 26 April) and less than two months before the outbreak of the General Strike on 4 May. Neither Baldwin nor Churchill wanted a conflict and they agreed to initiate a royal commission on the industry's future. The mineowners reacted by announcing a national lock-out from 31 July unless the miners accepted a substantial wage reduction. The return to gold at the 1914 parity is widely held to have caused deflation and resultant unemployment with a devastating impact on the coal industry in particular – the higher rate of the pound reduced the demand for already declining coal exports. Jenkins has pointed out that, as Churchill was a reluctant convert to gold, it is unfair to blame him entirely for the consequences, but it was in the end his decision to implement the measure and he was the one person who could have refused to do so. Keynes later wrote a pamphlet entitled The Economic Consequences of Mr Churchill. The principal opponent of the proposal was the economist John Maynard Keynes who argued that the measure would lead to a world depression. In his first budget, he controversially announced the return to the gold standard at its 1914 parity of £1=$4.86. Churchill ultimately relented and agreed to the measure, after which he became its supporter. He consulted various economists, the majority of whom endorsed the change among the few who opposed it was John Maynard Keynes. The Bank of England and others were calling for the UK to return to the gold standard, an idea Churchill initially opposed.
#Winston churchill portrait series#
In January 1925, he negotiated a series of war repayments, both from the UK to the US, and from other countries to the UK.
#Winston churchill portrait free#
He had always subscribed to economic liberalism and, as Chancellor, he intended to pursue his free trade principles. He was due to present his first budget on 28 April 1925. īecoming Chancellor on 6 November 1924, Churchill moved into 11 Downing Street and formally rejoined the Conservative Party. In addition, however, he praised Churchill's sense of humour, his vitality, his loyalty and greatest of all his oratory – "a tower of debating strength in the House of Commons". In August 1925, Chamberlain sent a letter to Baldwin in which he described Churchill as "mercurial" and "(not) what he was expected to be". Churchill's self-confidence, however, was so pronounced that he showed no such respect or caution. Roy Jenkins commented that, the appointment being a surprise, it should have inculcated in Churchill both a respect for Conservative Party ideals and a cautionary approach to a job that he knew little about. Ĭhurchill was actually second choice for the Treasury as Baldwin initially offered it to Neville Chamberlain, who declined because he wished to serve as Minister of Health, furthering his ambitions of reform in not only health but also housing, local government and the elimination of poverty. He had been a member of the Liberal Party since May 1904 but he now agreed to rejoin the Conservative Party, who were victorious in the 1924 election, and was appointed Chancellor of the Exchequer by the new Prime Minister, Stanley Baldwin. Having been a Member of Parliament (MP) since October 1900, Winston Churchill lost his seat at the November 1922 general election and was out of Parliament for nearly two years until successfully standing at Epping in the October 1924 general election.
0 kommentar(er)
