As for the impression the new Ministers have made in
the House, it varies. The Prime Minister has been quietly adequate —certainly in no way a failure, but certainly no notable success ; we shall have to wait longer to discover whether there are reserves of strength beyond what meet the eye. Mr. Sevin read his principal speech word for word from typescript ; it was an admir- able speech and promised well for the future. Mr. Morrison looks like handling the House well ; he can be conciliatory as well as firm. Mr. Greenwood throws his arms about and declaims unim- pressively. Mr. Isaacs, the new Minister of Labour, is painstaking and agreeable—his apologetic remark in reply to one supplemen- tary, " I'm a bit new to this job," was disarming ; whether he is of mettle for the work he has to do is another of the discoveries that must be left to the future. Mr. Aneurin Bevan, who has both housing and health service piled on his shoulders, has not had occasion to open his mouth in the House so far. Curiously enough, the outstanding Front Bench success, so far as dealing with ques- tions is concerned, is a junior Minister, Squadron-Leader John Strachey. With his chief in the House of Lords, he has great opportunities, and he looks like making good use of them. Having been in the House before, he knows its ways, and having served in the Air Ministry most of the war, he has his brain full of relevant facts, which enables him to deal with supplementaries very capably.
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