A Spectator's Notebook
One of the best tests of the mettle of a senior or junior minister is how they stand up or knuckle under to high-powered civil servants. It takes time for an order of merit to emerge. Civil servants themselves, although they invariably endeavour to dominate their ministers, nevertheless respect those who are not baffled by their flannel and tied up by their red tape. Two Ministers are now regarded as ahead of the field in this respect of being least subservient to their civil servants: Tony Barber and Peter Walker. Not so long ago the Chancellor liked it to be known that his political ambition would be entirely satisfied if he could complete the programme of fiscal refc-...ns which he has already begun, see the Initial stages of the European monetary re-arrangements completed and Value Added Tax understood and working. Peter Walker's ambition is, of course, less modest; and in the endless game of guessing the next, and the next but one, Prime Minister his name constantly recurs. At the moment, Robert Carr — surprisingly, to me — is generally regarded as first in line to succeed, except that many say "well there's always Willy." And indeed, there is always Willy Whitelaw, grappling with Ireland, becoming heroic, and unthreatened by any fallout from an economic catastrophe. Carrington is said to have slipped back a little. Keith Joseph has yet to impress the public at large, although his ministry iS successful. At a lower level, the regional Ministers are thought to be in danger and T hear that a place in the Cabinet might be found for Geoffrey Howe by making him Secretary for Wales, and that George \'nunger could replace Gordon Campbell as Scottish Secretary.
But I dare say that the Prime Minister, Who now seems to be directing his great energy and will-power upon the problems Fif the economy, and especially that of inflation, will be much too busy trying to avoid a compulsory wages policy to bother much about reshuffling his pack. Indeed we have not had a proper reshuffle from Ted Heath at all, but only minor readjustments made necessary by the death of lain Macleod and the departure °f Reggie Maudling. Can it be that deep down inside the Prime Minister is softcentred?
Late and left
Against my better judgment, I looked at Late Night Line Up on Monday evening, and saw a tedious discussion on ' political ' by people, both English and foreign, With an inadequate command of English. he films, as may be expected, were revolutionary and extremely left-wing. So Were the critics' and experts who a, ere them. On such occasions as I see programme, I am struck by its left:41g bias. I do not object to the vrogramme. It is instructive, although not
always in the way intended. But no comparable right-wing revolutionary programme would be tolerated. Indeed no similar right-wing democratic programme would be considered. It is impossible, I think, to produce political balance within a programme like Late Night Line Up, which inevitably reflects the prejudices and opinions of its producers and directors and link boys and girls. But the BBC surely has an obligation to present an alternative Late Night Line Up programme with an alternative name allowing the alternative right-wing and representative democratic views to be aired and discussed. It may be that there is no one within the present hierarchy of BBC2 able to conceive and edit and produce such a programme. If so, then I would be happy to provide assistance and advice.
An old mystery
Stanley Orme, the Labour MP for Salford West, has circulated a defence of the block-vote system used at TUC and Labour Party conferences. Both conferences would certainly be duller without block votes. It is the knowledge that the union leaders command great blocks which lends drama to their speeches and political weight to their interventions. The absence of block votes at Liberal and Tory party conferences is one of the factors contributing to their comparative lack of tension. Orme discusses the matter more solemnly, and mentions in passing a very curious incident. He is discussing the block vote issue as it was in the early 'fifties: " . . the critics on the left who opposed the block vote at that time did so, not because of the application of this vote, but because unfortunately certain trade unions appeared to be casting their votes against the conference decisions of their unions. The Woodworkers' vote on German rearmament is a classic example." That Woodworkers' vote was cast by their general secretary, George Brinham; and at the time it was a great mystery why he had swung his vote. His action -had the effect of defeating the Bevanite movement's strongest attempt to change the foreign policy of the Labour Party. I remember the occasion well, and knew that somehow or other Sam Watson, the right-wing .Durham miners' leader and chairman of the International Committee of the Labour Party's NEC, had persuaded Brinham to swing. No one knew how. But some years later, George Brinham was murdered by a homosexual whom he had picked up. It has occurred to me more than once that Sam Watson, who did more than anyone else to hold the Labour Party on the orthodox rails during those years, might well have known of Brinham's homosexuality and have threatened him with exposure unless he supported, the platform.
Liberal contenders
I spent a couple of days at Margate last week, looking at the Liberal Party conference. It is many years since I was at Margate, and I found the place changed and almost destroyed: the big ol4 hotels now taken over by Butlins and not much but boarding houses left. Yet you could see, in some of the terraces and squares, vestiges of an old seaside style, occasional left-overs of panache: balconies, fanlights, flint cottages and a smell of cooking fudge. The Liberals themselves seemed to be in surprisingly good heart — there was even the glimmerings of a leadership crisis, with several delegates suggesting (and hoping) that Russell Johnston, the member for Inverness, was preparing an attempt to oust Jeremy Thorpe from the leadership. And, a good thing too, several observers seemed to think. But I have to report that Emlyn Hooson, Liberal MP for Montgomeryshire, and David Steel, Liberal MP for Roxburgh, although not particularly averse to talk of changing the leadership, were less than enthusiastic when Russell Johnston was described as the leading contender.
Oddity and gravitas
The most powerful speaker I heard was Richard Moore, although he has grown some great hairy sideburns, which give him a rather dotty Dickensian appearance. This is all right if you belong to one of the major parties. It makes a kind of sense for people like Norman St John-Stevas or Leo Abse to exaggerate their oddity. But it is best, I think, if you are in an odd party not to look odd. Jeremy Thorpe, come to that, could do with a little more genuine gravitas: whenever he looks serious, it looks to me as if he is trying very hard, but not quite succeeding, in really being serious. Thorpe is able; he would make an excellent deputy leader.
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