Great Britain: Shake-Up

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Prime Minister Harold Macmillan has a reputation for being unflappable. But ambitious young Tory backbenchers have long complained that he is not ruthless enough in cutting away political liabilities and making room on his Cabinet team for new faces. Harold Macmillan last week again proved that he can be both flappable and ruthless. In a move that shook Britain, he summarily fired seven members of his 21-man Cabinet and reshuffled twice as many portfolios. Inevitably, the press called him "Mac the Knife."

Macmillan's action was triggered by last week's by-election at North-East Leicester, where the Conservative candidate ran a poor third with 6,578 votes, beaten not only by the victorious Laborite (11,274) but also by the upstart Liberal (9,326), who was making his party's first bid for the seat in twelve years. For several months, Macmillan has been going down to his ministerial estate at Chequers to brood in solitude over the long succession of by-elections in which Conservatives suffered severe setbacks. Day after the North-East Leicester election, Macmillan spent eight hours in his office at Admiralty House conferring with his ministers. Those being fired were in and out quickly; those being promoted stayed a bit longer.

Delphic Utterance. The most important head to roll was that of Selwyn Lloyd, who as Chancellor of the Exchequer has administered the government's vastly unpopular, anti-inflationary "pay pause," designed to hold down wages and prices. When he was bluntly informed of his dismissal after five years as a loyal Macmillan ally, Lloyd acidly wrote the Prime Minister: "I realize the policies with which I've been associated have been unpopular. On the other hand, I believe they have been right ... I know you are well aware that the growth of public expenditure should not outstrip our resources."

Macmillan answered: "You can rest assured that we intend to continue on the path that you have prepared," a Delphic utterance that seemed to leave open the possibility of a change of direction. In Lloyd's place, Macmillan named Reginald Maudling, 45, who as head of the Colonial Office has been the latest servant to preside over the projected liquidation of the Queen's empire (Kenya. Uganda, the West Indies). He has great ability, but usually fails to work hard in fields that do not interest him; economics interests him very much. The big question: whether, through Maudling, Macmillan intends to scrap Selwyn Lloyd's line and move toward inflation ("reflation." as it is currently known in Britain); or whether, in the midst of the crucial negotiations for Britain's entry into the Common Market, he will try to keep to his anti-inflationary policies, merely putting a more amiable and popular man in charge.

The Little List. Among the other axed Cabinet members: