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Anthony Perrinott Lysberg Barber, Baron Barber, TD, PC, DL (4 July 1920 – 16 December 2005) was a British Conservative politician who served as Chancellor of the Exchequer from 1970 to 1974.

Key Information

After serving in both the Territorial Army and the Royal Air Force during the Second World War, Barber studied at Oxford and became a barrister. Elected as MP for Doncaster in 1951, Barber served in government under Harold Macmillan as Economic Secretary to the Treasury and Financial Secretary to the Treasury, before being appointed Minister of Health by Alec Douglas-Home in 1963. After losing his seat in 1964, he won the 1965 by-election in Altrincham and Sale and returned to Parliament.

Barber was appointed as Chancellor of the Exchequer by Edward Heath in 1970, and oversaw a major liberalisation of the banking system, replaced purchase tax and Selective Employment Tax with Value Added Tax, and also relaxed exchange controls. During his term the economy suffered due to stagflation and industrial unrest, including a miners strike which led to the Three-Day Week. In 1972 he delivered a budget which was designed to return the Conservatives to power in an election expected in 1974 or 1975. This budget led to a brief period of growth known as "The Barber Boom," followed by a wage-price spiral and high inflation, culminating in the 1976 sterling crisis.[1] He was forced to introduce anti-inflation measures, along with a Price Commission and a Pay Board. After the Conservatives lost the first general election of 1974, he did not stand in the second election of that year.

Birth and early life

[edit]

Barber was born on 4 July 1920 in Kingston upon Hull.[2] He was the third son of John Barber and his Danish wife, Musse. Barber's unusual middle names arose from his mother, who contributed the "Lysberg", and French grandmother, who contributed the "Perrinott". His father was company secretary and director of a Doncaster confectionery works. He had two brothers: Noel, who became a journalist and novelist, and Kenneth, who became company secretary of Midland Bank.[3]

Barber was educated at King Edward VI Grammar School in Retford, Nottinghamshire.[3] He became an articled clerk in a solicitors' firm, but joined the King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry shortly before the Second World War started. He was commissioned into the Territorial Army Royal Artillery in 1939 and served in France with a unit from Doncaster as part of the British Expeditionary Force.[3] He was evacuated from Dunkirk in 1940, but later he became a pilot in the Photographic Reconnaissance Unit of the RAF. He ran out of fuel on a reconnaissance mission on 25 January 1942 and ditched near Mont St Jean, and was captured by the Germans.[3]

He was mentioned in dispatches for helping escapees from the prison camp at Stalag Luft III; he himself once escaped as far as Denmark. His PoW experiences were recalled by his friend and fellow RAF pilot PoW Thomas D. Calnan who met Barber at Oflag IX-A/H at Spangenberg in February 1942:

"Complete uniforms were rare in our party, the one outstanding exception belonging to Tony Barber, who was resplendent in an Army lieutenant's uniform, complete with Sam Browne."[4]

Barber is a prominent figure throughout Calnan's book:

"It was natural that Charles Hall, Tony Barber and I should plot escape together. We had known one another at Benson, before being shot down and we still felt that we all belonged to the same unit."[5]

Barber also wrote a brief foreword to this volume: "What has struck me most forcibly is how, after more than twenty years, he has recounted our adventures with such accuracy. He has managed to make a reality, once again, of the hopes and fears, the depression and the excitement which, for most of us who were there, now seems more like a dream."[6]

While still a prisoner, Barber took a law degree with first-class honours from the University of London, through the International Red Cross.[3] On his return to England, he was awarded a state grant to Oxford University, where he took a degree in Philosophy, politics and economics in two years at Oriel College, and a scholarship to the Inner Temple. He then practised as a barrister from 1948, and specialised in taxation.[3] From 1967 to 1970 he was chairman of Redfearn National Glass, with which his wife Jean's family was connected.[3]

House of Commons

[edit]

Anthony Barber stood in Doncaster at the 1950 general election but lost by 878 votes. He contested the seat again at the 1951 general election, however, and beat the incumbent Labour Member of Parliament, Raymond Gunter by 384 votes.[3] He held a series of offices: Parliamentary private secretary to George Ward (Under Secretary for Air) from 1952 to 1958; junior Government whip from 1955 to 1958; and Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Prime Minister, Harold Macmillan from 1958 to 1959. He then served four years as a junior minister in the Treasury, Economic Secretary to the Treasury from 1959 to 1962, and, following the "Night of the Long Knives" on 13 July 1962, as Financial Secretary to the Treasury from 1962 to 1963 (under the Chancellorships of Derick Heathcoat Amory, Selwyn Lloyd and Reginald Maudling).[3] He became a Cabinet minister, as Minister of Health, in 1963, but lost his seat in the Commons in the 1964 general election to Labour's Harold Walker.[3]

His absence from Parliament was short-lived, as four months later he won a 1965 by-election in Altrincham and Sale caused by the elevation to the peerage of Frederick Erroll.[3] In opposition, he led Edward Heath's campaign to become Conservative party leader in 1965, and became party chairman in 1967. The Conservatives won the general election in 1970, and Barber held his seat until the general election of October 1974, when he himself entered the House of Lords.[3]

Chancellor of the Exchequer

[edit]

After winning the election in 1970, Edward Heath appointed Barber as Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and gave him the responsibility for negotiating the entry of the UK into the European Economic Community.[3] However, following the sudden death of Iain Macleod on 20 July, only four weeks after the election, Barber became the new Chancellor of the Exchequer, although he was initially reluctant to take the job.[3] His appointment prompted Harold Wilson to remark that it was the first time that he had realised that Heath had a sense of humour. In line with the initial liberal instincts of Heath's 1970 government, he oversaw a major liberalisation of the banking system under the title of 'Competition and Credit Control', leading to a high level of lending, much of it to speculative property concerns. In his first Budget, in March 1971, he proposed to replace purchase tax and Selective Employment Tax with Value Added Tax, and also relaxed exchange controls; both were prerequisites to membership of the EEC. VAT came into force in 1973 at a standard rate of 10%. A year later, the rate was cut to 8%.

Barber also reduced direct taxes. High levels of economic growth followed, but the traditional capacity constraints of the British economy - especially currency and balance of trade concerns - quickly choked the economic boom. The banking system fell towards crisis as the bubble burst.

During his term the economy suffered due to stagflation and industrial unrest. In 1972 he delivered a budget which was designed to return the Conservative Party to power in an election expected in 1974 or 1975. This budget led to a period known as "The Barber Boom". The measures in the budget led to high inflation and wage demands from Public Sector workers. He was forced to introduce anti-inflation measures on the 6 November 1972, along with a Price Commission and a Pay Board.[7] The inflation of capital asset values was also followed by the 1973 oil crisis which followed the Yom Kippur War, adding to inflationary pressures in the economy and feeding industrial militancy (already at a high as a result of the struggle over the Industrial Relations Act 1971).

In 1972, having said a week earlier in the House of Commons that he had "no reason to believe that the pound was overvalued", he floated it (most of the world currencies were fixed under the Bretton Woods system at that time) "as a temporary measure". The pound immediately plunged on the markets, and it was impossible during his time as Chancellor to impose a new parity. It has remained floating ever since.[3]

Following a strike by the miners, and a Three-Day Week, Heath called for a general election on 28 February 1974 with the slogan "Who governs Britain?" The election returned a minority Labour government and Harold Wilson as Prime Minister.[3]

Later years

[edit]

Barber did not seek re-election at the general election of October 1974, and left front-line politics.[3] He was made a life peer on 6 January 1975 as Baron Barber of Wentbridge in West Yorkshire,[8] and served as Chairman of Standard Chartered Bank from 1974 to 1987, where future Prime Minister John Major was his personal assistant. In 1987, he was appointed to be a Deputy Lieutenant of the County of West Yorkshire.[9] Barber was also a director of BP from 1979 to 1988. He visited Nelson Mandela in prison, and was a member of the Franks Committee that investigated the Falklands War. In 1991, he became chair of the RAF Benevolent Association's appeal for the 50th anniversary of the Battle of Britain, which raised £26 million.[3]

Personal life and death

[edit]

In 1950, Barber married Jean Asquith, who was also a Conservative parliamentary candidate in that year's election.[3] They had two daughters and were married until her death in 1983.[10] In 1989, he married Rosemary Youens.[10]

Barber suffered from Parkinson's disease in later years, and died from bronchopneumonia at Ipswich Hospital on 16 December 2005.[3]

References

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Further reading

[edit]
[edit]
Revisions and contributorsEdit on WikipediaRead on Wikipedia

Anthony Barber

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Anthony Perrinott Lysberg Barber, Baron Barber of Wentbridge (4 July 1920 – 16 December 2005), was a British Conservative politician who served as from 1970 to 1974 under Prime Minister . Barber entered Parliament as the Member for in 1951, holding the seat until 1964, before representing and Sale from 1965 to 1974. A by training and a decorated pilot from the Second World War, he rose through ministerial ranks, including and Minister of Health. As , Barber pursued expansionary policies, including tax cuts and increased public spending, which spurred economic growth known as the "Barber boom" but ultimately contributed to rising and a subsequent amid the . After leaving office, he became a in 1974 and later chaired Bank, focusing on .

Early Life

Family Background and Education

Anthony Perrinott Lysberg Barber was born on 4 July 1920 in Hull, , as the youngest of three sons to a Danish mother and a father who served as a director of a manufacturing company. His unusual middle names derived from maternal heritage, with "Lysberg" contributed by his Danish mother and "Perrinott" from his French grandmother. His older brothers included Noël Barber, a journalist and bestselling , and Kenneth Barber, a banker who rose to become secretary of . Barber received his secondary education at King Edward VI Grammar School in , . During his imprisonment as a in following his capture in 1942, he pursued legal studies through a correspondence course organized by the International Red Cross, earning a first-class law degree. Postwar, from 1945 to 1947, he attended , where he completed a accelerated two-year degree in . In 1948, he was called to the bar at the , focusing on taxation law.

World War II Service

Barber enlisted in the Territorial Army at the outbreak of war in 1939 and served with an artillery regiment of the British Expeditionary Force in . In , during the German advance, he participated in the , withdrawing with retreating Allied forces under intense pressure. Following his return to Britain, Barber transferred to the Royal Air Force, where he trained as a pilot and was assigned to the Photographic Unit, conducting high-risk missions to gather intelligence over enemy territory. In , while on a reconnaissance flight over northern , his aircraft ran out of fuel, forcing him to bail out; he was promptly captured by German forces. Barber remained a for the duration of the conflict, enduring captivity in German camps and making multiple escape attempts, one of which reportedly influenced elements of the 1953 film . He was liberated by advancing Allied forces in 1945.

Entry into Politics

Election to Parliament

Barber was selected as the Conservative candidate for the marginal constituency of , a working-class area in with strong Labour traditions, following his service in and qualification as a in 1948. He won the seat at the on 25 October 1951, defeating the incumbent Labour MP by a measured in hundreds of votes, reflecting the tight national contest where the Conservatives secured a slim overall . This victory marked his entry into the amid a broader Conservative resurgence under , driven by voter fatigue with Labour's post-war austerity measures despite Labour receiving a slightly higher share of the national vote. Barber held through three subsequent general elections (1955, 1959, and 1964), but lost it to Labour in 1964 amid the party's national defeat; he re-entered in 1965 by winning the safe Conservative by-election in Altrincham and Sale, , with a comfortable after the sitting MP's elevation to the .

Early Parliamentary Roles

Barber was elected as the Conservative for on 25 1951, defeating the incumbent Labour MP by a narrow margin of 284 votes. Within months of his election, he was appointed Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) to George Ward, the Under-Secretary of State for Air, marking his entry into junior governmental responsibilities. Under Prime Minister , Barber advanced to more substantive roles at the Treasury. He served as from 22 October 1959 to 16 July 1962, assisting with implementation and fiscal matters. He then progressed to from 16 July 1962 to 20 October 1963, where he handled budgetary oversight and taxation administration. In the final months of the Conservative government, Barber was appointed Minister of Health from 20 October 1963 to 16 October 1964, overseeing public health services, hospital administration, and early reforms amid growing fiscal pressures. Following the Conservative defeat in the 1964 general election, which saw Barber lose his seat to Labour's Harold Walker, he won a for the safer Conservative constituency of Altrincham and Sale on 4 February 1965, securing a majority of 7,000 votes. In opposition, he contributed to party policy on economic and housing issues, laying groundwork for his later prominence.

Rise to Chancellor

Ministerial Positions

Barber's initial foray into government came under Prime Minister , who appointed him on 22 October 1959. In this junior ministerial role at the Treasury, he handled economic policy matters until his promotion on 16 July 1962 to , where he oversaw financial administration and parliamentary business for the department. These positions provided Barber with extensive experience in fiscal and economic affairs, working closely with Chancellors and . On 20 October 1963, following Alec Douglas-Home's ascension to , Barber entered the Cabinet as Minister of Health, becoming one of its youngest members at age 43. In this role, he managed the amid rising costs and implemented policies on hospital planning and mental health services, though the government lasted only until the October 1964 election, in which Barber lost his seat. After regaining a parliamentary seat in the 1965 by-election for Altrincham and Sale, Barber returned to the frontbench in Edward Heath's shadow government but held no further ministerial office until the Conservatives' victory in the June 1970 general election. Heath appointed him of the on 19 June 1970, a non-departmental Cabinet post often used for coordination roles, which Barber held for just over a month until Iain Macleod's sudden death elevated him to on 25 July 1970.

Appointment as Chancellor of the Exchequer

Following the Conservative Party's narrow victory in the general election of 18 June 1970, became and initially appointed as on 19 June. , a senior party figure and Heath's chief rival in the 1965 leadership election, had limited time to implement policy before suffering a fatal heart attack on 20 July 1970 at his official residence in . Heath swiftly reorganized the Treasury team, elevating Anthony Barber from his recent post as Chancellor of the —appointed immediately after the election—to on 25 July 1970. Barber, then aged 49, assumed the role amid a fragile economic inheritance from Labour's final year, marked by rising and sterling pressures, though the appointment itself drew little immediate . Barber's promotion reflected his alignment with Heath's priorities, stemming from early collaboration as Heath's junior whip in the 1950s and as during Heath's successful 1965 leadership bid against Maudling and Powell. His Treasury experience dated to the Macmillan era, including service as Economic Secretary (1957–1958) and (1962–1963) under chancellors Heathcoat Amory, Lloyd, and Maudling, alongside opposition frontbench duties on fuel, power, and European trade. As Conservative Party chairman from 1967 to 1970, Barber had coordinated the election campaign, bolstering his credentials in fiscal and organizational matters despite lacking Macleod's public stature.

Economic Policies as Chancellor

Initial Expansionary Measures (1970-1971)

Upon his appointment as on 20 June 1970, following the sudden death of , Anthony Barber inherited an economy experiencing sluggish growth of approximately 2% for the year, well below the 3.5% anticipated by the previous Labour government, alongside emerging pressures from rising unemployment. In the initial months, Barber maintained a steady approach, avoiding immediate drastic shifts while assessing the fiscal landscape, though he began signaling intentions for tax reforms to encourage activity and counter stagnation. Barber's first major policy actions materialized in his budget speech on 30 March 1971, which introduced targeted expansionary fiscal measures aimed at boosting demand and employment. The standard rate of was reduced from 41.25% (8s 3d in the pound) to 37.5% (7s 6d in the pound), effective from 6 April 1971, providing relief to average taxpayers and intended to increase disposable income for consumption. The top marginal rate on earned income was capped at 75%, down from higher effective levels previously described as "confiscatory," to incentivize higher earners and . Corporation tax was cut to 40% for the 1970 financial year, further easing burdens on businesses to stimulate . These tax reductions were complemented by social security adjustments, including increases in retirement pensions to £6 from £5 per week for single persons and £9.50 from £8 for married couples, alongside child allowances raised to £4 from £3 for younger children. Barber also relaxed credit controls and prepared the groundwork for broader system reforms, such as the eventual introduction of to replace purchase tax and selective , signaling a shift toward a more growth-oriented framework. By late , these initial steps had contributed to early signs of , with parliamentary debates noting cumulative effects from measures since July 1970 in addressing , though remained contained at around 6% annually. The policies reflected the Heath government's priority on achieving sustained GDP expansion, targeting 5% growth over 1971-1973 through fiscal easing without immediate monetary tightening.

The Dash for Growth and Decimalisation (1972-1973)

In his budget delivered on 21 March 1972, Barber pursued an aggressive expansionary strategy dubbed the "dash for growth," aimed at achieving GDP expansion of approximately 5 percent annually through 1973 to combat rising unemployment and stagnant output amid global economic pressures. This involved substantial tax reductions, including cuts to income tax and purchase tax, alongside increased public spending and relaxed credit controls, which boosted the public sector borrowing requirement by an estimated £3.4 billion over two years to finance the stimulus. In June 1972, Barber abandoned fixed exchange rates for the pound, allowing sterling to float and depreciate by about 15 percent over the subsequent 18 months, which supported exporters but exacerbated imported inflation. The policy initially spurred economic recovery, with GDP growth accelerating to 4.4 percent in 1972 from 2.7 percent in 1970, driven by heightened consumer spending and investment. However, by mid-1973, overheating became evident as inflationary pressures mounted, with retail prices rising sharply due to wage demands, commodity price surges, and the stimulus's loose monetary stance; money supply growth outpaced targets, contributing to a boom that strained capacity without corresponding productivity gains. Decimalisation, enacted under Barber's chancellorship with the transition completing by early 1972 after "" on 15 February 1971, facilitated these fiscal maneuvers by modernizing the currency system from pounds-shillings-pence to a decimal format, though it prompted minor one-off price adjustments via rounding that fed public perceptions of during the growth push. The Decimal Currency Board was wound up shortly thereafter, aligning with Barber's broader emphasis on economic efficiency. Into 1973, Barber maintained expansionary momentum initially, but mounting balance-of-payments deficits and —nearing double digits—necessitated a sharp reversal in a December mini-budget, which imposed spending cuts of around 4 percent, raised rates, restricted credit, and hiked interest rates to 13 percent to curb monetary excess and restore stability. These measures marked an abandonment of the dash for growth, prioritizing anti-ary restraint amid external shocks like rising oil prices, though they came too late to avert a deepening .

Responses to Inflation and External Shocks

In response to accelerating inflation, which reached 7.3% by early 1972 amid the ongoing economic expansion, Chancellor Barber supported the introduction of statutory prices and incomes controls through the Counter-Inflation (Temporary Provisions) Act 1972. This legislation imposed a 90-day freeze on pay, prices, dividends, rents, and other charges effective from July 6, 1972, marking a shift from the government's initial reluctance to intervene directly in wage bargaining. Subsequent phases under the policy limited annual pay increases to £1 per week plus a £2 flat rate in Stage One (November 1972), escalating to percentage-based caps of 4% in Stage Two, aiming to curb cost-push pressures while preserving incentives for productivity. External shocks compounded these domestic inflationary tendencies, beginning with the effective collapse of the in 1971, which prompted the UK to float the on June 23, 1972, following failed attempts to defend fixed parities amid speculative pressures. A global commodity price surge followed, but the most acute disruption arrived with the : after the in October 1973, OPEC imposed an embargo on oil exports to the UK and others, quadrupling crude prices from approximately $3 to $12 per barrel within months and widening the UK's balance-of-payments deficit to over £1 billion annually. These events drove UK inflation to 9.2% by year-end 1973, fueling as import costs soared and strained energy supplies led to industrial disruptions. To counter these pressures, Barber pivoted toward restraint, announcing on December 17, 1973, the largest peacetime public expenditure cuts in modern British history, totaling around £500 million over 1974–75, including immediate reductions of £350 million in current spending and deferrals in capital projects. He abandoned the prior 5% annual growth target, raised indirect taxes such as purchase tax and surtax rates, and imposed statutory limits on bank lending growth to £1.2 billion for 1974 via the Bank of England's "" mechanism of supplementary special deposits, which required banks to lodge non-interest-bearing reserves if lending exceeded ceilings. Monetary tightening included the minimum lending rate to 11.5% immediately, later reaching 13% by March 1974, aiming to rein in expansion that had averaged over 20% annually during the boom. These measures sought to restore external balance and dampen but were implemented amid intensifying wage pressures and energy shortages, preceding the government's imposition of the three-day working week in January 1974.

Evaluations of Barber's Chancellorship

Short-Term Achievements

Barber's initial budgets emphasized to counter inherited , with the March 1971 budget cutting the standard rate by 6d in the pound (from 8s 3d to 7s 9d) and easing hire-purchase restrictions to stimulate . These measures, alongside increased public , contributed to a short-term uptick in economic activity, as output began recovering from the near-zero growth of mid-1969 to mid-1970. A key structural accomplishment was the successful transition to decimal currency on 15 February 1971, which replaced the pounds-shillings-pence system without significant disruptions to commerce or public adaptation; the Decimal Currency Board was wound up shortly thereafter, reflecting effective preparation and execution. The 1972 "dash for growth" budget further accelerated expansion through substantial tax reductions—including halving the top rate from 75% to 37.5% for earned income—and relaxed monetary controls, yielding GDP growth of 3.9% for the year and initiating a decline in from its 1972 peak above one million to levels approaching 550,000 by late 1973. This brief "Barber boom" met the government's interim growth objectives, temporarily alleviating postwar-high joblessness amid rising industrial output.

Criticisms and Economic Controversies

Barber's expansionary fiscal policies, particularly the 1972 budget, drew sharp criticism for prioritizing short-term growth over monetary discipline, resulting in economic overheating and a surge in . The featured major cuts that reduced the overall burden from 40.0% of GDP in 1970/71 to 35.9% in 1972/73, coupled with relaxed expenditure controls and an official growth target of 5% for 1971–1973, which critics argued ignored underlying inflationary risks amid rising wage pressures and global commodity costs. Monetary easing exacerbated these issues; the 1971 Competition and Credit Control measures abolished quantitative restrictions on bank lending, propelling (M3) growth to 25% in 1972 and bank advances from £71 million to £1.33 billion annually, which fueled asset price booms but eroded . The subsequent decision to float the on 23 June 1972, shortly after the , triggered a 15% against major currencies by 1973, amplifying import-driven as oil and raw material costs rose. These policies contributed to the onset of , with inflation climbing from 7.3% in 1971 to 9.2% in 1973 and accelerating further to 16.0% in 1974, while public sector net borrowing ballooned to 5.7% of GDP by 1974/75. Economic analysts have labeled the resulting "Barber boom"—marked by peak GDP growth of 6.5% in 1973 and dipping to 3.7%—as unsustainable self-sabotage, as it transitioned into with -2.5% GDP contraction in 1974 and rising joblessness, leaving the economy vulnerable to the 1973 oil shock that quadrupled prices. Barber's incomes policy, introduced to cap wage settlements at levels tied to the cost of living, failed to contain union-driven pay demands, further entrenching and industrial disputes that undermined productivity. Detractors, including fiscal think tanks, contend that the chancellor's dismissal of as a "new and baffling combination of evils" in his budget speech reflected inadequate foresight into the perils of demand-side stimulus without corresponding supply-side reforms. By the time corrective spending cuts were enacted in late , the damage had mounted, with public debt climbing from 45.2% of GDP in 1973/74 to higher levels, presaging broader fiscal strains into the Labour government's tenure.

Causal Factors and Alternative Perspectives

The primary causal factors behind the economic challenges during Anthony Barber's tenure as Chancellor included aggressive expansionary fiscal and monetary policies initiated in 1971-1972, which fueled a temporary boom but overheated the economy, generating demand-pull inflation that peaked at 24.2% by 1975. These measures, such as tax cuts equivalent to 2.5% of GDP in the 1972 budget and increased public spending, aimed to reduce unemployment from 3.5% in 1970 to below 2% by 1973, but they disregarded capacity constraints and contributed to a credit-fueled asset price surge, with the FTSE index rising over 70% in 1972 alone. Exogenous shocks amplified these domestic policy shortcomings, particularly the 1973 OPEC oil embargo, which quadrupled global oil prices from $3 to $12 per barrel between October 1973 and January 1974, imposing a terms-of-trade loss on the UK equivalent to 3-4% of GDP and shifting inflation toward cost-push dynamics. The collapse of the Bretton Woods system in 1971, leading to the pound's float and devaluation pressures, further eroded monetary discipline, as Bank of England base rates were held low at around 5-7% despite rising money supply growth exceeding 20% annually by 1972. Endemic structural rigidities, including powerful trade unions securing wage settlements averaging 13-15% annually amid productivity stagnation, entrenched a wage-price spiral that policies failed to curb through incomes policies, which proved unenforceable. Alternative perspectives emphasize that Barber's policies achieved measurable short-term gains, with GDP growth averaging 5% from 1972-1973—double the 1960s trend—and unemployment falling to 2.5% by mid-1973, suggesting the "dash for growth" addressed post-devaluation stagnation inherited from the prior Labour government rather than originating all woes. Proponents argue external events bore disproportionate blame, as similar afflicted oil-importing peers like the US and , where rose 11% and 7% respectively by 1974, implying Barber's error was mistiming restraint amid unpredictable shocks rather than flawed Keynesian expansion per se. Critics of this view, including monetarist analyses, counter that pre-1973 at 6-9% signaled overheating from M3 growth, and the absence of supply-side reforms—such as curbing union militancy—rendered fiscal stimulus unsustainable, contrasting with later Thatcher-era via monetary targeting. Some revisionist accounts highlight Heath's overriding political directive for growth to secure EEC entry, positioning Barber as executor rather than architect of avoidable risks.

Later Career and Legacy

Business Roles and Peerage

Following his resignation as Chancellor of the Exchequer in March 1974, Anthony Barber withdrew from frontline politics and resumed a career in business. Prior to the 1969 merger of the Chartered Bank and Standard Bank to form Standard Chartered Bank, Barber had served as a non-executive director of the Chartered Bank. In 1974, he was appointed chairman of Standard Chartered Bank, a role that involved extensive international travel and oversight of the institution's operations in Asia, Africa, and the Middle East; he retained this position until 1987. On 6 January 1975, Barber was elevated to the peerage as Baron Barber, of Wentbridge in the County of , under the Life Peerages Act 1958. This life peerage permitted him to participate in the without hereditary succession, aligning with his transition to non-partisan roles post-politics.

Assessments of Overall Impact

Barber's chancellorship is frequently assessed as having delivered short-term , with GDP growth rising from 2.7% in 1970 to approximately 5% by 1972-1973 through tax cuts and increased public spending totaling around £2.5 billion in 1971 alone, including pension hikes and eased credit controls. These measures addressed prior stagnation and , achieving the government's explicit 5% growth target initially and liberalizing banking regulations to foster . However, critics argue this "dash for growth" overheated the , contributing to surging from 6.4% in 1970 to 16% in 1974, exacerbated by wage demands and loose that prioritized demand stimulation over supply-side constraints. Longer-term evaluations, particularly from economic historians, attribute much of the 1970s —marked by persistent high inflation into 24% by 1975 and the under the subsequent Labour government—to Barber's fiscal looseness, which left the economy vulnerable to the 1973 oil shock that quadrupled prices. Contemporary and retrospective analyses, including parliamentary debates, often compare it unfavorably to more restrained approaches, ranking Barber among the least effective post-1945 chancellors for failing to curb inflationary pressures despite warnings. Alternative perspectives emphasize exogenous factors like global commodity shocks and union power as primary drivers, suggesting Barber's stimulus averted a deeper , though empirical on sustained gains remains limited. Beyond economics, Barber's broader political impact is minimal; as a loyal Heath ally, he influenced Conservative tax reforms like value-added tax introduction in but lacked independent prominence, retiring from frontline politics after the 1974 election defeat. His later business roles, including chairmanship of Bank from 1974 to 1987, demonstrated personal acumen in amid emerging markets, yet did not translate to significant public influence or revisionist defense of his chancellorship. Overall, his legacy endures as a cautionary example of expansionary policy risks in open economies, informing debates on fiscal limits during supply disruptions, with mainstream assessments privileging the inflationary costs over transient gains.

Personal Life

Family and Relationships

Barber was born on 4 July 1920 in , , to John Barber, a director of a confectionery manufacturing firm, and his Danish wife Mussee Lysberg, from whom he derived his . His paternal grandmother was French, contributing his other , Perrinott. He had two brothers: Noel, a , and Keith, who served as secretary of the . In 1950, Barber married Jean Patricia Asquith, a political activist who had contested a parliamentary seat unsuccessfully that year. The couple had two daughters, Louise and Josephine. Jean Barber died in 1983. Following her death, Barber remarried in 1989 to Rosemary Youens (née Surgenor), a ; she died in 2003. After her passing, he relocated from to to live closer to his younger daughter, Josephine. No children resulted from his second marriage.

Death

Anthony Perrinott Lysberg Barber, Baron Barber of Wentbridge, died on 16 December 2005 in , , at the age of 85. His death followed a period in later years marked by , which had clouded his health. In the years preceding his death, Barber relocated from to in 2003 to be closer to his younger , Josephine, after the passing of his second wife. He was survived by two daughters from his first to Jean Asquith, who had died in 1983.

References

  1. https://membersafter1832.historyofparliamentonline.org/members/3098
  2. https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/people/mr-anthony-barber/index.html
  3. https://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/person/mp05053/anthony-perrinott-lysberg-barber-baron-barber-of-wentbridge
  4. https://www.ruffer.co.uk/en/thinking/articles/market-views/2022-09-barber-boom
  5. https://www.the-independent.com/news/obituaries/lord-barber-520040.html
  6. https://www.theguardian.com/news/2005/dec/20/guardianobituaries.obituaries
  7. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/1505792/Lord-Barber.html
  8. https://www.nytimes.com/1967/09/12/archives/tory-organization-man-anthony-perrinott-lysberg-barber.html
  9. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/lord-barber-520040.html
  10. https://www.nytimes.com/1965/02/05/archives/tories-easily-keep-seat-in-byelection.html
  11. https://www.thetimes.com/article/lord-barber-rqf5n0fb06n
  12. https://www.nytimes.com/1970/07/21/archives/iain-macleod-dies-in-london-new-chancellor-of-exchequer-chief.html
  13. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/95685030/iain_norman-macleod
  14. https://www.nytimes.com/1970/07/26/archives/anthony-barber-is-named-chancellor-of-exchequer-heath-names-anthony.html
  15. https://rgshistory.com/2018/09/21/the-chancellors-26-anthony-barber/
  16. https://www.nytimes.com/1971/03/31/archives/britain-to-reduce-taxes-under-tory-reform-plan-first-tory-budget.html
  17. https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1971/dec/14/economy-reflationary-measures
  18. https://hansard.parliament.uk/commons/1971-12-14/debates/f1c9e831-34a2-4784-94b2-61b2842e6c30/Economy%28ReflationaryMeasures%29
  19. https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/1971-03-30/debates/e98f0802-d7ec-4675-b24b-3e56d211b20a/WaysAndMeans
  20. https://time.com/archive/6838801/britain-a-two-nations-budget/
  21. https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2022/sep/25/why-the-barber-boom-that-kwasi-kwartengs-mini-budget-recalls-was-destined-for-disaster
  22. https://lordslibrary.parliament.uk/the-uk-economy-in-the-1970s/
  23. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-63011639
  24. https://davieseconomicsblog.wordpress.com/2018/09/12/british-economic-difficulties-1970s-barber-boom-contributes-towards-inflation/
  25. https://www.thetimes.com/business-money/economics/article/barber-booms-dash-for-growth-predated-kwarteng-by-50-years-mt27l3nkj
  26. https://www.newstatesman.com/business/economics/2022/09/kwasi-kwartengs-growth-plan-bad-idea-50-years-ago
  27. https://www.nytimes.com/1973/12/18/archives/britain-slashes-budget-abandons-growth-policy.html
  28. https://www.nytimes.com/1973/12/19/archives/britains-crisis-budget.html
  29. https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1972/nov/07/economic-situation
  30. https://warwicklightfoot.substack.com/p/the-economic-legacy-of-edward-heath
  31. https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1973/dec/19/economic-and-energy-situation
  32. https://countryeconomy.com/gdp/uk?year=1972
  33. https://ifs.org.uk/articles/drastic-times-need-drastic-action-breaking-50-year-tax-taboo
  34. https://www.economicshelp.org/blog/5272/economics/policies-for-economic-growth/
  35. https://users.nber.org/~confer/2002/si2002/nelson.pdf
  36. https://ipa.org.au/ipa-review-articles/when-everything-was-going-wrong-britain-in-the-seventies
  37. https://www.adamsmith.org/blog/edward-heaths-conservative-government
  38. https://peerages.historyofparliamentonline.org/peerages/1711
  39. https://www.in2013dollars.com/uk/inflation/1970?amount=100
  40. https://www.in2013dollars.com/uk/inflation/1974
  41. https://hansard.parliament.uk/commons/2022-09-23/debates/6F82FA4B-DB6B-4E89-BA39-4ABEA1045ABF/TheGrowthPlan
  42. https://www.washingtonpost.com/made-by-history/2022/10/09/britain-tax-cuts-inflation/
  43. https://www.nytimes.com/1970/07/01/archives/an-archetypal-tory-anthony-perrinott-lysberg-barber.html
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