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IMF crisis

IMF building in Washington.

The imposing doorway of the International Monetary Fund building in Washington.
©TopFoto

In 1976 Britain faced financial crisis. The Labour government was forced to apply to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a loan of nearly $4 billion. IMF negotiators insisted on deep cuts in public expenditure, greatly affecting economic and social policy.

Related documents

Oil crisis

Oil Supplies. 16 October 1973 (PDF, 1.256MB)

Oil Supplies. 18 October 1973 (PDF, 1.738MB)

Oil Allocation. Memorandum by the Lord President of the Council. 14 November 1973 (PDF, 0.479MB)

Oil Supplies. Memorandum by the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry. 21 November 1973 (PDF, 0.479MB)

Stagflation

Action to counter Unemployment in 1977. Memorandum by the Secretary of State for Employment. 29 November 1976 (PDF, 0.300MB)

Harold Wilson's 1974 government

The Economic Situation. 14 March 1974 (PDF, 2.843MB)

Economic Strategy and Public Expenditure. 26 July 1974 (PDF, 2.617MB)

Public Expenditure to 1978-79. Note by the Chancellor of the Exchequer. 24 July 1974 (PDF, 26.857MB)

Public Expenditure Priorities. Memorandum by the Chancellor of the Exchequer. 30 October 1974 (PDF, 4.263MB)

Economic Strategy. 20 June 1975 (PDF, 2.361MB)

Pay Options and the Prospect for Inflation. Note by the Secretary of the Cabinet. 17 June 1975 (PDF, 3.595MB)

Counter-Inflation Policy. 1 July 1975 (PDF, 1.778MB)

Draft White Paper on Inflation. 10 July 1975 (PDF, 2.011MB)

Draft White Paper on Inflation. Note by the Secretary of the Cabinet. 8 July 1975 (PDF, 3.844MB)

Public Expenditure to 1979-80. Memorandum by the Chancellor of the Exchequer. 28 November 1975 (PDF, 2.277MB)

Public Expenditure White Paper. Memorandum by the Chancellor of the Exchequer. 2 February 1976 (PDF, 10.289MB)

Devaluation of the pound

Economic Situation. 10 June 1976 (PDF, 0.525MB)

Public Expenditure. 6 July 1976 (PDF, 0.559MB)

Public Expenditure to 1980-81. Note by the Chancellor of the Exchequer. 1 July 1976 (PDF, 17.579MB)

Public Expenditure. The Economic Background. Memorandum by the Chancellor of the Exchequer. 2 July 1976 (PDF, 1.832MB)

The $3.9 billion loan

IMF Negotiations. 23 November 1976 (PDF, 0.803MB)

IMF Negotiations. 25 November 1976 (PDF, 0.715MB)

IMF Negotiations. 1 December 1976 (PDF, 0.673MB)

IMF Negotiations. Memorandum by the Chancellor of the Exchequer. 22 November 1976 (PDF, 0.476MB)

The Real Choices Facing the Cabinet. Memorandum by the Secretary of State for Energy. 29 November 1976 (PDF, 0.431MB)

Economic Strategy - The IMF. Memorandum by the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs. 29 November 1976 (PDF, 0.212MB)

Search using IMF loan Devaluation

Further reading

Dell, E., The Chancellors A History of the Chancellors of the Exchequer 1945-90 (London: HarperCollinsPublishers, 1996)
Burk, K., Good-bye Great Britain: The 1976 IMF Crisis (Yale University Press, 1992)

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