“It appears that we are to reconcile ourselves to the fact that we are to have 1,300,000 unemployed in this country. There are no unemployed in the United States of America, no unemployed at all in France. There are hardly any unemployed in Italy. The United States of America, France, and Italy are protectionist countries. We are a free-trade import country.”

— F. E. Smith, 1st Earl of Birkenhead

Speech to the Constitutional Club (20 November 1923), quoted in The Times (21 November 1923), p. 17

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update June 3, 2021. History

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Do you have more details about the quote "It appears that we are to reconcile ourselves to the fact that we are to have 1,300,000 unemployed in this country. The…" by F. E. Smith, 1st Earl of Birkenhead?

F. E. Smith, 1st Earl of Birkenhead photo

F. E. Smith, 1st Earl of Birkenhead 27

British politician 1872–1930

Related quotes

“There's no requirement that jobs be meaningful. If there was, half the country would be unemployed.”

Max Barry book Company

Source: Company

“We are united in our commitment to strive for the advancement of our people - especially the women, the poor, the weak, the powerless, the youth, and the unemployed.”

Timoci Bavadra (1934–1989) Fijian politician

Radio broadcast, 24 April 1987 (excerpts)

“We live in a country afflicted by a senile and selfish capitalist system...where families are homeless, sick people unattended, children untaught whilst building workers, nurses and teachers are unemployed”

Neil Kinnock (1942) British politician

Source: ‘Introduction’, in Why Vote Labour? (1979), p. 2, quoted in Tudor Jones, ‘Neil Kinnock's socialist journey’, Contemporary Record, Volume 8, Issue 3 (1994), p. pp. 568–569

“Of all countries passing through these difficult times the one that has stood the test with the greatest measure of success is the United Kingdom. Without underrating the hardships of our situation—the long tragedy of the unemployed, the grievous burden of taxation, the arduous and painful struggle of those engaged in trade and industry—at any rate we are free from that fear, which besets so many less fortunately placed, the fear that things are going to get worse. We owe our freedom from that fear largely to the fact that we have balanced our Budget.”

Neville Chamberlain (1869–1940) Former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom

Speech http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/commons/1933/apr/25/direct-taxation in the House of Commons as Chancellor of the Exchequer (25 April 1933)
Chancellor of the Exchequer