GREAT BRITAIN: Pruning the Horse’s Oats

The prosperity that carried Britain’s Conservatives to high good health at the polls last May had itself taken on a disconcerting pallor by the time the Tories gathered at Bournemouth last week for their annual party conference. Though they called it a “victory” conference, the Conservatives were hardly in a mood for self-congratulation. Instead, they were anxious to hear from their leaders that some steps were being taken to curb Britain’s worsening gold and dollar position and growing inflationary pressures, rising cost of living. The leaders obliged.

From Chancellor of the Exchequer Richard A. Butler came a promise of continued stiffening of bank credit and an indication—certain to raise a din from the Laborite opposition—of cutbacks in food and housing subsidies, public works and other aspects of the Labor-fostered welfare state. Butler called it a program to “expand success and curb excess.” “I did not know the horse would be so excitable when it saw the oats of freedom,” said Rab Butler, less apt at figures of speech than figures of finance. “We need to prune back our roses to get better blooms.”

From Prime Minister Anthony Eden came even bigger deflationary news: a cut of 12½% in Britain’s defense forces, a reduction in the armed forces (mostly in the army) from 800,000 to 700,000. “We are confident we can discharge our treaty obligations and maintain our position as a world power despite this reduction in numbers,” said Eden.