But the trouble does not end there. The weakness of
the Parliamentary Labour Party lies not merely in its tactics but in its personnel. Mt. Attlee indeed discharges the routine duties of Leader of the Opposition to the general satisfaction ; also there is no one whose arguments read better in Hansard. Unfortunately the manner is not equal to the content, and Mr. Attlee's fiercest criticisms sound like the contributions of a diffident undergraduate to a college debating-society. Mr. Arthur Greenwood goes to the other extreme and tears a passion to tatters upon the smallest provocation. Sir Stafford Cripps and Mr. Herbert Morrison, both of whom are excellent performers in debate, are not called upon sufficiently often. Mr. Alexander, Mr. Tom Johnston and Mr. Dalton are, of course, thoroughly capable Parliament men. But all these leaders are by way of being veterans. What the team badly needs, as the football scribes would say, is new blood. In this Parliament the only permanent recruits to the Front Bench have been Mr. Noel Baker and Mr. James Griffiths. It is difficult to see why the party does not promote Mr. Aneurin Bevan and Lieut.-Commander Fletcher, and reinstate Mr. Pritt in the front row.
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