Thirty months after Marshall aid began, Chancellor of the Exchequer Hugh Gaitskell last week had an announcement for the House of Commons: Britain could go it alone; Marshall Plan aid would be suspended Jan. 1, 18 months ahead of schedule. "Now we can begin to walk proudly again," said an M.P.
The $2.7 billion in dollar aid had bought Britain time to work out a way of living within its income—austerely. British production had increased about 40% over 1946; the rate of dollar-spending in the first quarter of 1950 had been cut 25% from the first Marshall Plan year. Currently,...
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