—Portrait of the Week
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SUDDENLY THINGS WERE SLIPPING; notably the Government's lead in the public opinion polls. Gallup put it down to 4.5 per cent and a lot of money went on the Tory in Thursday's by- election in Hull North. Mr. Edward Heath survived the embarrassment of arriving in Rome for talks the day the Italian Govern- ment fell, had an invitation for Sunday morn- ing drinks at 10 Downing Street turned into one for serious talks, and let it be known that the Tories would henceforward concentrate their attacks on the Government's handling of the economy. The Government meanwhile (or part of it) blamed the failure of supplies at the West Midlands Gas Board on Tory short- therm planning, faced the prospect of a strike by the National Union of Railwaymen on February 14, and introduced an Industrial Reorganisation Corporation with £150 million to spend and Sir Frank Kearton as chairman.
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