The Week
It was a week of merry turmoil at Westminster. Mr lain Sproat, a Scotch Tory MP, named ten Labour Members as fellowtravellers. The press did not print their names, but asked for the reactions of, among others, Messrs Norman Atkinson, John Mendelson and Tom Litterick, and Misses Joan Maynard and Jo Richardson. The head of the Tribune group asked the Speaker to rule whether Mr Sproat had been in contempt of the House.
Mr Sproat meanwhile earned the execration of all writers from fascist to anarchist by helping to kill the Public Lending Right Bill. The House of Lords amended yet another Government Bill, excluding ship-repairing from nationalisation. Mr Wedgwood Benn called for the abolition of the House of Lords. A mass march against cuts in public expenditure arrived at the Commons, organised (according to its own claims) by the Communist Party.
Mr Brezhnev arrived in Belgrade on a state visit, kissed President Tito three times and said that Yugoslavia was not 'Little Red Riding Hood' threatened by the Soviet wolf. In Quebec Mr Rene Levesque's separatist party won a landslide victory in the provincial election, calling into question the Canadian federation. New British compromise proposals divided black nationalist representatives at the Geneva talks, while the Rhodesians announced killing twentynine insurgents in a day.
Miss Rhodesia arrived in London, where
the actual outcome of the Miss World contest became less interesting than who was going to take part in it: in protest at the presence of two girls from South Africa, Misses Swaziland and Mauritius withdrew, followed by Miss Liberia and Miss India, In seven by-elections in France M Giscard d'Estaing suffered severe setbacks to the Right and Left. Thirty eight voters in an election in Brazil did not make it to the polls: their bus fell into the Amazon and they were partially devoured by piranha fish.
Mr Jocelyn Stevens was not reported to be playing any part in bidding for the Observer, which, despite continuing inter' vent ion by Associated Newspapers, fell In. exorably into the hands of Mr Rupert Murdoch. Mr Mark Hosenball, an Amer!. can reporter working for the Evening Standard, was ordered to leave the country by the Home Office. The new increase in welfare benefits aroused a storm of protest. Mr Patricic Jenkin MP claimed that it would add £1,400 million a year to public expenditure, while others calculated that in certain cumstances an unemployed man could draw £5,000 p.a. The Duke of Edinburgh called the Welfare State 'a protection against failure and exploitation', an ambiguous description which earned him much trouble. Mr Callaghan said that a previous atteMPt to tax benefits had been an 'administrative dog's breakfast.' At a banquet in Peking the Soviet arid East European ambassadors walked 01.1t during a speech by Mr Li Hsien-mien. The Syrian army finally took Beirut. The United States vetoed Vietnam's application for United Nations membership for th,e third time. The EEC warned Japan that' must immediately cut its favourable trade balance with Europe. M Jean Gabin, the French film actor, died, as did Mr Graham Pollard, the biblio' phile. A scientific worker at the Govern' ment's secret Porton establishment co tracted 'green monkey fever.' Mr Davi Marquand announced that he was leaving politics to join Mr Roy Jenkins on thje Common Market gravy train. Mr Edwaru Heath dropped his libel action against tilde Sunday Times. Lord Rothschild warrle. that too many acres were being lost to agrv culture each year in Great Britain. England went to Rome in a nervous con; dition to play Italy at football, and los 2-0. John Snow, the Sussex fast bowler; was suspended for three matches se% season. A 572 lb sturgeon was landed in thc Danube. And Mrs Jackie Onassis came to 3 final financial settlement with her late husband's family for a round 88 million.
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