The Geddes Axe was the drive for public economy and

retrenchment Retrenchment (, an old form of ''retranchement'', from ''retrancher'', to cut down, cut short) is an act of cutting down or reduction, particularly of public expenditure. Political usage The word is familiar in its most general sense from the mot ...

in UK government expenditure recommended in the 1920s by a Committee on National Expenditure chaired by Sir

Eric Geddes Sir Eric Campbell Geddes (26 September 1875 – 22 June 1937) was a British businessman and Conservative politician. With a background in railways, he served as head of Military Transportation on the Western Front, with the rank of major-ge ...

and with Lord Inchcape, Lord Faringdon, Sir Joseph Maclay and Sir Guy Granet also members.

Background

During and after the

Great War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, government expenditure and taxation increased. Taxation per head per annum was £18 in 1919; £22 in 1920; and £24 in 1921. In 1913–14 the Civil Services and Revenue Departments cost £81.3 million; in 1920–21 they cost £523.3 million; and in 1921–22 they cost £590.7 million. The

Armed Forces A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable by a ...

cost around £77 million in the year before the War and approaching £190 million in 1921–22. Similarly, the

National Debt A country's gross government debt (also called public debt or sovereign debt) is the financial liabilities of the government sector. Changes in government debt over time reflect primarily borrowing due to past government deficits. A deficit occ ...

and other Consolidated Fund Services increased over the same time from £37.3 million to £359.8 million. In 1921 the

Anti-Waste League The Anti-Waste League was a political party in the United Kingdom, founded in 1921 by the newspaper Media proprietor, proprietor Harold Harmsworth, 1st Viscount Rothermere, Lord Rothermere. Formation The formation of the League was announced in a ...

was formed by

Lord Rothermere Viscount Rothermere, of Hemsted in the county of Kent, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1919 for the press lord Harold Harmsworth, 1st Baron Harmsworth. He had already been created a baronet, of Horsey in ...

to campaign against what they considered wasteful government expenditure, and three of its candidates won by-elections from

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a State (polity), state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive (government), execu ...

supporters between February and June 1921. In May 1921

HM Treasury His Majesty's Treasury (HM Treasury or HMT), and informally referred to as the Treasury, is the Government of the United Kingdom’s economic and finance ministry. The Treasury is responsible for public spending, financial services policy, Tax ...

sent all government departments a circular citing that in 1921–22 the cost of Supply Services would be £603 million and that this should be reduced in the next financial year to £490 million—economies totalling £113 million. Instead the response was a plan to reduce this expenditure by £75 million. The

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

David Lloyd George David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor (17 January 1863 – 26 March 1945) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1916 to 1922. A Liberal Party (United Kingdom), Liberal Party politician from Wales, he was known for leadi ...

appointed Geddes as head of a committee in August 1921 to find where cuts could be found in various government departments for 1922–23. The committee's terms of reference were:

To make recommendations to the
Chancellor of the Exchequer The chancellor of the exchequer, often abbreviated to chancellor, is a senior minister of the Crown within the Government of the United Kingdom, and the head of HM Treasury, His Majesty's Treasury. As one of the four Great Offices of State, t ...
for effecting forthwith all possible reductions in the National Expenditure on Supply Services, having regard especially to the present and prospective position of the Revenue. Insofar as questions of policy are involved in the expenditure under discussion, these will remain for the exclusive consideration of the Cabinet; but it will be open to the Committee to review the expenditure and to indicate the economies which might be effected if particular policies were either adopted, abandoned or modified.

Sometime after its appointment the Chancellor Sir Robert Horne requested that the committee find where expenditure could be reduced by £175 million, which meant total expenditure down to £428 million. The committee's reports were shown to the Cabinet in December 1921 and January 1922, where Cabinet committees reviewed and modified them before publication in February. Three Reports were published: *First Interim Report of Committee on National Expenditure. ( Cmd. 1581. Pp. 172.) *Second Interim Report of Committee on National Expenditure. (Cmd. 1582. Pp. 113.) *Third Interim Report of Committee on National Expenditure. (Cmd. 1589. Pp. 170.)

The Axe

The Reports advocated economies totalling £87 million; the Cabinet decided on savings amounting to £52 million. Total defence expenditure fell to £111 million in 1922–23 from £189.5 million in 1921–22; total social spending (education, health, housing, pensions, unemployment) fell from £205.8 million in 1920–21 to £182.1 million in 1922–23. After 1922–23 defence spending increased to £114.7 million in 1924–25, and social spending—after dipping to £175.5 million in 1923–24—increased to £177.4 million in 1924–25.

As a metaphor

''Geddes Axe'' may have been the first use of ''axe'' as a metaphor for financial cuts. The earliest citations for ''axe'' used in this sense in the

Oxford English Dictionary The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (''OED'') is the principal historical dictionary of the English language, published by Oxford University Press (OUP), a University of Oxford publishing house. The dictionary, which published its first editio ...

are all in the context of the Geddes Axe. The very earliest citation is in the ''

Glasgow Herald ''The Herald'' is a Scottish broadsheet newspaper founded in 1783. ''The Herald'' is the longest running national newspaper in the world and is the eighth oldest daily paper in the world. The title was simplified from ''The Glasgow Herald'' in ...

'' in October 1922. It was used in ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'' in March 1923 in an article concerning the limit of safety of army cuts: "No fewer than 1,500 officers had fallen before the Geddes axe.""axe, ax", ''Oxford English Dictionary Online'', sense 1.c, retrieved 5 February 2017. For a time the ''Geddes Axe'' became a metaphor for any change that improved efficiency or increased simplicity. For instance,

Rupert Gould Rupert Thomas Gould (16 November 1890 – 5 October 1948) was a lieutenant-commander in the British Royal Navy noted for his contributions to horology (the science and study of timekeeping devices). He was also an author and radio personality. ...

in ''The Marine Chronometer'' (1923) wrote,

Background

The Axe

As a metaphor

Notes

Further reading