Parliament in Recess Our Parliamentary Correspondent writes : Few men
in the House of Commons can have welcomed the Easter. Recess with keener pleasure than the Chief Government Whip. In the last few, weeks he has had an exceptionally difficult time. The defeat of the Government on the issue of equal_ pay for equal work was symptomatic of a fairly general disgruntlement among its supporter,. The main cause is the growing irritation at what the rank-and-file regard as the lack of respect shown to their views on the Treasury Bench. The answers by Cabinet: Ministers to questioners who believe that they arc raising issues of public importance have often been perfunctory and even rude. On Occasion an unfortunate Under- Secretary has been forced alone to face the storm on a controversial Bill, and, even when hard pressed, no Cabinet Minister has come to his aid. There is continuous evidence of a similar kind that the Government have not yet wakened up to the fact that " the crisis Parlia- ment" of 1931, with its cohorts of well-disciplined young men, new to the ways of the house of t'ommons and with all the public school virtues of loyalty and obedience, is no more, but that a highly critical assembly has taken its place.
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