Macmillan, disingenuously, as he had already decided to sack him, wrote to Lloyd on 11 April congratulating him and asking him to begin preparing an expansionary budget for 1963 to help the Conservatives win re-election. During 1962 Lloyd's credibility and that of the Treasury was further damaged when it became clear that the Treasury had overestimated the strength of the economy, meaning that the July 1961 measures had been excessively severe. Bank Rate was cut to 4.5% on 26 April, and £70m of Special Deposits were released on 31 May.