Word: swinton
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Dates: during 1930-1939
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...long imminent reshuffle of the Chamberlain Cabinet came this week, hastened by heavy debating pressure upon His Majesty's Government in the House of Commons. Charges that Viscount Swinton as Air Secretary has made a muddle of his end of British Rearmament were hurled even by some M.P.s of the Government's own Conservative Party, by many Liberal and Labor M.P.s...
Laborites led in attacking Swinton's recent decision to buy some U. S. war planes (TIME, May 2), demanded a return to purchase of nothing but craft "built by honest British labor." Shouts of "Liar!" in which some Conservatives joined greeted a Government declaration that "British factories are filled to capacity with orders!" After hours of acrimonious debate, the Cabinet won a vote of confidence by only 299-to-131, and it was clear that Swinton would have to be permitted to resign, as planned by Tactician Chamberlain, to provide a scapegoat for the unpopular "American purchases...
...House of Commons saw this as a series of merited promotions for Sir Kingsley, MacDonald, Stanley and Elliot who have long been marked as comparatively youthful "comers." In the dropping out of Peers Swinton and Harlech was seen an effort to give the Chamberlain Cabinet a more "democratic" guise before a General Election becomes necessary. This week London papers began saying openly that for this same reason Viscount Halifax may soon be succeeded as Foreign Secretary by a "commoner," possibly even by Vote Getter Anthony Eden...
...these British groups can view with equanimity any other system than that they both should profit from Rearmament to the limit, insist that it be "All British." His Majesty's Government were flooded with complaints from employers and employes all heading up to blaming Air Secretary Viscount Swinton for the British aircraft industry's "muddles and delays...
...type of British aircraft the Air Ministry were accused of having ordered over 6,000 modifications of the original plans they had "approved." Since well before last Christmas, driving, dictatorial Air Secretary Lord Swinton had been the target of assertions in the largest British papers that he must and would resign, and a suitable occasion would certainly be to offer Swinton as a scapegoat for "unpopular American purchases." The Viscount has been a fixture in Conservative cabinets off & on for 15 years, his friends were confident last week that the Prime Minister will not ease him out, and Swinton...