British Pathe

Selected originals (offcuts, selected scenes, out-takes, rushes) for story "Gaitskell on Dollar Drive" - 51/19.

Eastbourne, Sussex.

GV. Interior of convention. SV. & LV. Delegates applauding. LV. Towards, delegates arriving to train station. CU. Mayor of Eastbourne, Alderman R. J....

Selected originals (offcuts, selected scenes, out-takes, rushes) for story "Gaitskell on Dollar Drive" - 51/19.

Eastbourne, Sussex.

GV. Interior of convention. SV. & LV. Delegates applauding. LV. Towards, delegates arriving to train station. CU. Mayor of Eastbourne, Alderman R. J. S. Croft, and another man seated on platform during the convention. SV. Delegates arriving. GV. Eastbourne station. CU. Dollar sign. SV. Convention poster. CU. Man. LV. Delegates, two shots. CU. Signposts. GV. Eastbourne, beach.

CU. Mr Harold Wilson on platform. LV. Mr Hugh Gaitskell speaking (natural sound):

'Now I'm going to start by saying something very obvious and yet very important. We are not at war. If we were at war no doubt we should have to disregard everything that wasn't of essential importance to the lives of our people and the prosecution of the war. We should certainly be driven to curtail home investments severely, to cut down drastically building and the supply of machinery for civilian purposes. We should very probably, Mr Chairman, if we were at war, be thinking of having to reduce our exports pretty far and I think we should be looking around for a system to enable us to buy essential imports.'

CU. Mr Gaitskell continuing: 'But it's worth remembering in that connection that even in 1940, indeed from the beginning of the war until the arrival of lease-lend, even during the battle of Britain itself, with the fighters fighting in the air and the bombs dropping, we here were engaged then upon an intensive export drive to bring in every pound's worth of dollars or any other currency we could to pay for our essential imports. Well sir, thank God, we are not back in 1940. How much more then is it obvious we cannot now, because of our peacetime defence programme, despite our peacetime defence programme, proceed to neglect our exports and assume that somehow or other somebody else is going to find the wherewithal for us to pay for our imports ...as well as exports and home investments and we recognise therefore. We must, all of us I think, face it, that there must be some falling off in exports from this group as a whole as well of course as some serious repercussions on supplies for the home market. I think we're also going to have some decline in exports of raw materials and semi-manufactured products for the simple reason that where you have a shortage, unless exports of the raw materials and the 'semis' in question are curtailed we shall simply not be able to maintain industrial output at home. Now that's a subject I shall say a little more about later on because I know that many of you have been particularly concerned ...to revolt against it.'

LV. Assembly. Mr Gaitskell continuing: 'They're within the limits set by these considerations which I have thought it wise to set out quite plainly. You may be sure that we shall do all in our power to assist you in your great and important task. I've made it plain I think that in your factories and businesses and in this convention here you're concerned with the fulfilment of an absolutely vital objective of national policy. You're faced, I've spoken of them, with many difficulties of a most intractable, frustrating and anxious kind. But I hope you'll be encouraged by the thought, which I here and now confirm and emphasise to you, that in the opinion of the government and the country your ventures and your efforts represent one of our greatest hopes of riding the present rough economic waters and coming safe home to more stable and less difficult times.'

LV. Sir Patrick Hannen the chairman of the convention, standing at mikes.

(Comb.Orig.Neg.)