Anthony Barber

The Lord Barber
Barber in the 1970s
Chancellor of the Exchequer
In office
25 July 1970 – 4 March 1974
Prime MinisterEdward Heath
Chief Secretary
Preceded byIain Macleod
Succeeded byDenis Healey
Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
In office
20 June 1970 – 25 July 1970
Prime MinisterEdward Heath
Preceded byGeorge Thomson
Succeeded byGeoffrey Rippon
Chairman of the Conservative Party
In office
10 January 1967 – 20 June 1970
LeaderEdward Heath
Preceded byEdward du Cann
Succeeded byPeter Thomas
Minister of Health
In office
20 October 1963 – 16 October 1964
Prime MinisterAlec Douglas-Home
Preceded byEnoch Powell
Succeeded byKenneth Robinson
Financial Secretary to the Treasury
In office
16 July 1962 – 20 October 1963
Prime MinisterHarold Macmillan
Preceded byEdward Boyle
Succeeded byAlan Green
Economic Secretary to the Treasury
In office
22 October 1959 – 16 July 1962
Prime MinisterHarold Macmillan
Preceded byFrederick Erroll
Succeeded byEdward du Cann
Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Prime Minister
In office
10 January 1957 – 22 October 1959
Prime MinisterHarold Macmillan
Preceded byRobert Allan
Succeeded byKnox Cunningham
Member of Parliament
for Altrincham and Sale
In office
4 February 1965 – 20 September 1974
Preceded byFrederick Erroll
Succeeded byFergus Montgomery
Member of Parliament
for Doncaster
In office
25 October 1951 – 25 September 1964
Preceded byRay Gunter
Succeeded byHarold Walker
Personal details
Born
Anthony Perrinott Lysberg Barber

(1920-07-04)4 July 1920
Kingston upon Hull, England
Died16 December 2005(2005-12-16) (aged 85)
Ipswich, England
Political partyConservative
Spouses
Jean Asquith
(m. 1950; died 1983)
Rosemary Youens
(m. 1989)
Children2
RelativesNoel Barber (brother)
Alma mater
Military service
AllegianceUnited Kingdom
Branch/service
Years of service1939−1945
Rank
Unit
Battles/warsSecond World War (POW)

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.

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.

  1. ^ Steele, G. R. (2010). "INFLATION ECONOMICS: THE HEATH–BARBER BOOM, 1972–74". Economic Affairs. 30 (3): 79–81. doi:10.1111/j.1468-0270.2010.02028.x. S2CID 152522190.