Anthony Barber

The Right Honourable The Lord Barber PC DL TD
Barber in the 1970s
Chancellor of the Exchequer
In office 25 July 1970 – 4 March 1974
Prime Minister	Edward Heath
Chief Secretary	Maurice Macmillan Patrick Jenkin Tom Boardman
Preceded by	Iain Macleod
Succeeded by	Denis Healey
Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
In office 20 June 1970 – 25 July 1970
Prime Minister	Edward Heath
Preceded by	George Thomson
Succeeded by	Geoffrey Rippon
Chairman of the Conservative Party
In office 10 January 1967 – 20 June 1970
Leader	Edward Heath
Preceded by	Edward du Cann
Succeeded by	Peter Thomas
Minister of Health
In office 20 October 1963 – 16 October 1964
Prime Minister	Alec Douglas-Home
Preceded by	Enoch Powell
Succeeded by	Kenneth Robinson
Financial Secretary to the Treasury
In office 16 July 1962 – 20 October 1963
Prime Minister	Harold Macmillan
Preceded by	Edward Boyle
Succeeded by	Alan Green
Economic Secretary to the Treasury
In office 22 October 1959 – 16 July 1962
Prime Minister	Harold Macmillan
Preceded by	Frederick Erroll
Succeeded by	Edward du Cann
Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Prime Minister
In office 10 January 1957 – 22 October 1959
Prime Minister	Harold Macmillan
Preceded by	Robert Allan
Succeeded by	Knox Cunningham
Member of Parliament for Altrincham and Sale
In office 4 February 1965 – 20 September 1974
Preceded by	Frederick Erroll
Succeeded by	Fergus Montgomery
Member of Parliament for Doncaster
In office 25 October 1951 – 25 September 1964
Preceded by	Ray Gunter
Succeeded by	Harold Walker
Personal details
Born	Anthony Perrinott Lysberg Barber (1920-07-04)4 July 1920 Kingston upon Hull, England
Died	16 December 2005(2005-12-16) (aged 85) Ipswich, England
Political party	Conservative
Spouses	Jean Asquith ​ ​ (m. 1950; died 1983)​ Rosemary Youens ​ (m. 1989)​
Children	2
Relatives	Noel Barber (brother)
Alma mater	University of London Oriel College, Oxford Middle Temple
Military service
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Branch/service	British Army Royal Air Force
Years of service	1939−1945
Rank	Lieutenant Pilot officer
Unit	Royal Artillery No. 1 Photographic Reconnaissance Unit RAF
Battles/wars	Second 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.