Mr. Wilson’s Poisoned Chalice

The three-week campaign preceding Britain’s second general election of 1974 lived down to everybody’s worst expectations. Really, of course, the politicians had never stopped electioneering since the indecisive result in February: but when the new election date was announced, they all piously said that, at this grave moment in Britain’s history, they would campaign entirely on the issues; there would be no mud-slinging, no easy promises, no attempt to disguise the seriousness of the situation. Within a matter of days they were hurling accusations at each other, pledging their parties to make huge handouts of the taxpayers’ money, and squabbling childishly about facts and figures.

The most flagrant piece of chicanery was indulged in by the Chancellor of the Exchequer himself, Mr. Denis Healey. He tried to maintain that the rate of inflation had been slowed, by the cleverness of the Labor government, to a mere 8 per cent. He contrived this figure by taking three months during which there had been both a once-for-all cut in sales tax and a seasonal reduction in the price of certain foods, multiplying the rise during that quarter by four, and claiming that this was now the annual rate of inflation. The actual rate of inflation is about 20 per cent—and rising.

AL

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Anthony Lejeune

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British Conservative Party

The three-week campaign preceding Britain’s second general election of 1974 lived down to everybody’s worst expectations. Really, of course, the politicians had never stopped electioneering since the indecisive result in February: but when the new election date was announced, they all piously said that, at this grave moment in Britain’s history, they would campaign entirely on the issues; there would be no mud-slinging, no easy promises, no attempt to disguise the seriousness of the situation. Within a matter of days they were hurling accusations at each other, pledging their parties to make huge handouts of the taxpayers’ money, and squabbling childishly about facts and figures.

The most flagrant piece of chicanery was indulged in by the Chancellor of the Exchequer himself, Mr. Denis Healey. He tried to maintain that the rate of inflation had been slowed, by the cleverness of the Labor government, to a mere 8 per cent. He contrived this figure by taking three months during which there had been both a once-for-all cut in sales tax and a seasonal reduction in the price of certain foods, multiplying the rise during that quarter by four, and claiming that this was now the annual rate of inflation. The actual rate of inflation is about 20 per cent—and rising.