Parliamentary Notes Our Parliamentary Correspondent writes : In last week's
Spectator " Janus " quoted Lord Runciman's recent declara- tion that he " deplores and detests " marketing schemes and similar Socialist contrivances, he himself having been a member of the Cabinet when all these schemes were initiated. Lord Runciman is not the only offender. His example has now been followed by Lord Londonderry, who gives it as his opinion " that during the last few years our foreign policy has been opportunist, that our leaders have had no definite view as to the conduct of foreign affairs, and, also, that we have alienated our friends through misunderstandings which should never have arisen and which we seem unable to remove." Presumably " the last few years " include the period 1931-35 during which Lord Londonderry was Secretary of State for Air. If ex-Ministers may indulge in this kind of retrospective opposition, what becomes of the doctrine of Cabinet responsibility ? Also, it is scarcely calculated to add to the repute of politicians as a class when the public learns that eminent statesmen have long acquiesced in politics which they believe to be pernicious and that such acquiescence only comes to an end when the same statesmen cease to hold office.
* * * *
Previous page
