Churchill, shrinking budgets, and the Ten Year Rule

The Ten Year Rule made an expectation of peace a basis for limiting military expenditure. One explanation for Churchill's support connects his hopes of defending the empire economically through air power with the political advantages of accepting smaller budgets. As Chancellor in 1928, he made the assumption self-renewing. The cited defence budgets fall from £766 million in 1919 to £189 million in 1921-22 and £102 million in 1932. These nominal figures show the scale of the contraction before the rule formally ended in March 1932.