In this week's episode of Since Attlee & Churchill, Lee and Richard travel back 70 years to Harold Macmillan's only Budget as Chancellor of the Exchequer, and the controversial introduction of Premium Bonds. Was this an ingenious way of encouraging saving, or an immoral state-sponsored lottery? They explore the centuries-old history of state-sponsored lotteries, Macmillan's determination to present Premium Bonds as a respectable form of saving, and the furious reaction from Labour politicians and religious leaders. Harold Wilson denounced the scheme as a 'squalid raffle', while Clement Attlee and the Archbishop of Canterbury were among those who questioned its morality. But with millions of people enthusiastically buying bonds, was Labour fighting a losing battle? And how did Macmillan ultimately get the last laugh?
In this podcast, the following books are mentioned:
'The Macmillan Diaries: The Cabinet Years 1950-57'. Available at: https://uk.bookshop.org/a/16406/9780230768437
'Social Europe, the Road not Taken: The Left and European Integration in the Long 1970s' by Aurelie Dianara Andry. Available at: https://uk.bookshop.org/a/16406/9780192867094
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