Letter from London

The Welfare State Wins a Round

The political scene woke up with a jerk over a little matter of fifty million pounds. The secret had been well kept. A flurry of Cabinet meetings was attributed to Cyprus, Malta and the need to get everything shipshape before the Prime Minister set out on his Commonwealth tour. Then suddenly, high political drama: the Chancellor of the Exchequer resigns, taking with him both his junior Ministers at the Treasury.