The Week in Parliament Our Parliamentary Correspondent writes : A
week ago Lord Halifax made his now famous speech to the Conservative Members Foreign Affairs Committee. It seems to have created almost a revolution in back- benchers' minds. Although the gathering was private, the general tenor of the Foreign Secretary's remarks has become widely known. Apart from other con- siderations, the meeting may turn out to have a profound effect when the succession to the Premiership comes to be decided. That increased strength in arms would be reflected in our diplomacy was presumed, but Members were not prepared for what in fact is a re-orientation of British foreign policy. Our solidarity with France, our careful attention to United States opinion, the cultivation of our potential customers and allies in Russia and Eastern Europe, with the openly expressed realisation that we must suit our language to our company, reveal the conversion that Mr. Chamberlain has undergone in the last twelve months. Mr. Hudson's trade mission to Russia needed some stomaching by the anti-Reds, whose numbers are not inconsiderable, though their influence is small. It was noticeable that the Prime Minister's announcement on Monday of the Moscow visit was received almost in silence. That Mr. Stanley and Mr. Hudson are to go to Berlin is, however, universally approved. Even the Government's severest critics recognise that the era of our inertia appears to be over, and that we are taking the initiative again. As a by-product, the Tory ranks have been re-united.
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