A Spectator's Notebook
I WAS PUZZLED by Lord Boothby's assertion on the BBC's agreeable Tonight pro- gramme that Lord Beaver- brook is the only man in this country 'who has ever suc- cessfully challenged the Establishment.' To say that Lord Beaverbrook got rid of Asquith in 1916 is id a sense true; but he did the deed as a go- between, rather than as a challenger—like Cadmus he flung the stone which set the warriors fighting among themselves. And then, as Lord Beaverbrook himself admits, the Establishment Promptly turned the tables by luring him into accepting a peerage and thereby destroying his Prospects of political advancement. It is true that the Express newspapers have in certain ways held aloof from the rest of Fleet Street, following different conventions, hoisting the pirate flag occasionally and breaking out of the press ring; but these forays, though they have helped to secure a huge circulation and hefty profits, have llot given Lord Beaverbrook the influence 'he has craved. As Mr. Randolph Churchill once said of him, Lord Beaverbrook has never espoused adY cause that was both honourable and suc- cessful. Still, Lord Boothby agreed with the SPectaior that the Establishment, which he be- lieves exercised a disastrous influence on the Policy of the country in the Thirties, has 'gone very much further since the war.' Now that he has rediscovered political independence, I look forward to seeing him use his voice to redress the balance.
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