ABSTRACT
The outstanding feature of the story of monetary developments during the year to April 1959 was to be seen in a definite change in the condition of Britain’s economy and a corresponding change in government policy. Broadly speaking, until the middle of 1958 the efforts of the authorities were still mainly directed to restraining inflationary trends, with a close watch on movements in the exchange value of sterling. Thereafter, the slackening in trade at home, with a rising trend in the figures of unemployment and other signs of incipient recession, called for measures to stimulate business activity – measures which were rendered possible by the sustained strength of sterling abroad. In the early part of 1959 further measures of stimulation were applied, not least among them being those announced in the budget. Even in April 1958, however, it was becoming clear that the level of business activity was declining and that the outlook was far from promising. In fact conditions worsened, and as a result the direction of the government’s financial policy radically altered, and many of the controls imposed during the previous four years were relaxed or abolished.
