Defaults, restructuring, and uncertainty over repayment

Does the 1934 default mean Britain's debts were never repaid?

Clarke distinguishes default from later restructuring and repayment, while acknowledging uncertainty about some obligations and the precise repayment date.

Clarke acknowledges defaults during the Depression while continuing to argue that British obligations were later repaid through restructuring. His approximate figure for an agreed default is $4 billion, and he places the wider disruption around 1934. He recalls an earlier repayment expectation around 1950 and hesitates between 2005 and 2006 for the eventual endpoint. He also allows that some debts may have gone unpaid amid failed banks and transfers between creditors. The final exchange contains unclear wording about whether a government must restructure after default, so it does not settle that distinction.