On This Day: Britain asks the IMF for a loanEnglish Labour Party politician and Chancellor of the Exchequer, Denis Healey (1917 – 2015) at the Labour Party Conference in Brighton on 3rd October 1977. The value had dropped by another two cents the preceding day, and as Healey enjoyed the airport lounge, more bad news reached him. At the IMF meeting, the Chancellor had planned to apply for a loan of $3.9bn, at that point the biggest the IMF had ever considered. Forty-nine years ago today, on Thursday 30 September 1976, the Chancellor flew to Blackpool to make his case to the Labour Party Conference. What was it Healey had told the Labour conference?