The Press MONDAY, OCTOBER 19, 1964. Mr Wilson’s Cabinet

Press, Volume CIII, Issue 30575, 19 October 1964, Page 12

The Press MONDAY, OCTOBER 19, 1964. Mr Wilson’s Cabinet

With one exception, Mr Wilson’s choice of Ministers for his Cabinet has been far less revolutionary than some had expected from his admiration for President Kennedy. It is possible that whatever his personal preferences his wafer-thin majority discouraged Mr Wilson from a course that might be interpreted as evidence of weakness in the political material at his disposal. Appointments to the middle-grade posts in the Cabinet suggest that the Prime Minister’s eye was on a tactful balance between the different wings of the Labour Party, and on regional considerations

—the appointment of Mr Griffiths to be Secretary for Wales, for instance, both rewards one of the party’s respected veterans and fulfils an election concession to regional sentiment by a promise of new posts. The appointment of Lord Gardiner (formerly Sir Gerald Gardiner, Q.C.) to be Lord Chancellor will be generally welcomed; and it must be hoped that he will be allowed to push forward with the law reform he has strongly advocated. The separation of the Commonwealth and Colonial Secretaryships (both offices held by Mr Sandys in the outgoing Government) no doubt reflects the prominence Mr Wilson’s speeches have given to the Commonwealth and his concern to have outstanding colonial problems tidied up. The appointment of Mr Gordon Walker to the Foreign Office places a vital responsibility in capable, experienced hands. Had Mr Wilson favoured extensive recruiting from outside current politics, a man of the calibre of Lord Robens, a former Cabinet Minister and the successful chairman of the National Coal Board, would have been a popular choice for the newlycreated office of Minister of Economic Affairs—a post designed as the keystone of Mr Wilson’s plans to modernise and give renewed energy to Britain’s economy. However, the office has gone to Mr Brown, who was Mr Wilson’s rival for the party’s leadership after Mr Gaitskell’s death. Mr Wilson’s strong hand, and his skill in economics (unrivalled in his Cabinet), will probably be needed to determine the relations between the Treasury, headed by the Chancellor of the Exchequer (Mr Callaghan), and the new Ministry of Economic Affairs. Mr Wilson will be aware of the dangers; he saw them at first-hand in the middle of the 1945-50 Labour Government when Dr. Dalton was constantly driving in one direction and Sir Stafford Cripps in the other. Mr Wilson’s economic problems are pressing because of the widened gap between imports and exports.

The most controversial of Mr Wilson’s appointments is the one that he has made from outside politics—that of Mr Cousins, general secretary of the huge Transport and General Workers’ Union, to fill the new post of Minister of Technology. The “ Economist ” thought that this was one office into which Mr Wilson (if he had the chance) should put an “ unorthodox thruster ”. The appointment of Mr Cousins certainly fulfils that requirement. No-one can doubt that he has aggression and drive. His challenge to the Labour establishment in 1960 on nuclear disarmament will be remembered. How a man who is said to be too unpredictable and too self-assured to make or keep allies will fit into the Cabinet is Mr Wilson’s problem. The Prime Minister could find himself holding a tiger by the tail.

Though the Labour Front Bench may look unsubstantial when compared with the Conservative array, that is inevitable when a party has been out of office for a long time. There is no reason why at least some of the men Mr Wilson has chosen should not reach the top grade with experience in office. At their heels will be many keen aspirants, some of whom will be showing their heads in the next day or two when Mr Wilson names the 20 or so Ministers who are not in the Cabinet.