THE REACTION Of the Labour Party to Mr. Thorneycroft's resignation
was as childish as we have come to expect. Mrs. Barbara Castle attributed it on television to Mr. Thorneycroft's desire to escape before the Bank Rate Tribunal report is published—but when pressed to amplify her statement she pleaded respect for the law of contempt of court. But at least Mrs. Castle knew what she was about, which is more than can be said for Mr. James Griffiths. When asked for his comments by a television news interviewer, he took out and read a prepared statement from the party's shadow Cabinet. Apart from the fact that the statement was full of the usual glib, weary political phrases, the fact that he read it destroyed any impact it might have had. My own impression is that though the Government will certainly be weakened by the resignations—par- ticularly its reputation with other countries—the Conservative Party will not be much affected here —and where it is, Labour will not benefit. The chief beneficiary may well turn out to be Mr. Ludovic Kennedy.
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