A substantial long-term increase in solar activity, with an associated decrease in cosmic rays, is generally accepted to have occurred during the twentieth century <Lockwood et al., 1999>. Cosmic rays are known to modulate the global atmospheric electric circuit through changes in the ionospheric potential, and a decrease in the global atmospheric electric circuit is therefore expected in response to the solar activity increase <Harrison, 2002>. Whether this has been observed in the long series <Harrison, 2003> of surface Potential Gradient (PG) observations at Eskdalemuir, Scotland is questioned by Earle Williams because of: (1) the likely overestimate of stratospheric conductivity changes inferred from a cosmic ray proxy, (2) twentieth century air pollution changes in the UK, (3) the absolute magnitude and (4) absence of solar modulation in the PG at Eskdalemuir. These points are addressed in turn.