There are two main questions raised by the figures published in the last three months. First, to what extent has the rise in national output slowed down already : and is a substantial increase in real demand still to be expected over the next year? Secondly, how far does the fall in exports in the second quarter alter the balance of payments outlook?

One of the main aims of short-term economic policy in Britain has been to regulate the pressure of demand for labour, and to keep the fluctuations of the unemployment percentage within fairly narrow limits. High unemployment is obviously undesirable; at the other end of the scale, if the pressure of demand for labour is too strong, this tends to lead to excessively high wage increases and to balance of payments difficulties. It is for the Government to decide at what pressure it wishes to run the economy, and to try to keep it there.

It is generally agreed that Britain has an acute housing problem, but the nature of this problem is not always understood. For the country as a whole it is not a problem of shortage, though there is a shortage in London and the South East. In future, most new houses will not be built to add to the total stock of houses, but to replace existing houses, millions of which are more than a century old and in very poor condition.