Winston S. Churchill | Typed letter signed ("Winston Churchill"), to Sir Arthur Steel-Maitland, 4 November 1927

Winston S. Churchill

Typed letter signed ("Winston Churchill") as Chancellor of the Exchequer, to Sir Arthur Steel-Maitland, regarding a bill related to unemployment insurance, 4 November 1927

1 page (9 1/4 x 7 1/4 in.; 241 x 184 mm) on embossed Treasury Chambers stationery, and dated 4 November 1927; minor fading, paperclip markings and multiple file pinholes to upper left corner.

A SPIRITED LETTER WRITTEN AS CHANCELLOR OF THE EXCHEQUER, TO THE RT. HON. SIR ARTHUR STEEL-MAITLAND, MINISTER OF LABOUR:

"My dear Arthur, I cannot help repeating what I have said orally and literally at least a half dozen times, that I hold you committed in good faith to the decision taken by the Cabinet that the principle of equal thirds was not to be conceded during the passage of your Bill. I could not possibly agree to it, nor would Neville [Chamberlain] from whom I have had a very strong letter. I beg you to stick to your guns…”

Steele-Maitland, as Minister of Labour, had initially opposed Churchill’s efforts to include a universal Insurance Bill covering all workers, their widows and children in his first budget as Chancellor of the Exchequer in 1925, asking Churchill to delay it on political grounds for at least a year. Churchill would not. Two years later, Steel-Maitland attempted to put through a bill on unemployment insurance that Churchill feared would undermine his “derating” scheme in which social welfare legislation had been implemented on an “equal thirds” formula, dividing the cost between the Exchequer, the local council and the employers. Marvelous as the letter is in its tone and content, it is further enhanced by this early reference to Churchill’s then-cabinet colleague as Minister of Health, and future nemesis as Prime Minister, Neville Chamberlain.

PROVENANCE:

From the collection of Malcom Forbes