| 1 | ‘ Stop electing life peers ’ . |
| 2 | By Trevor Williams . |
| 3 | A move to stop Mr Gaitskell from nominating any more labour life peers is to be made at a meeting of labour MPs tomorrow . |
| 4 | Mr Michael Foot has put down a resolution on the subject and he is to be backed by Mr Will Griffiths , MP for Manchester Exchange . |
| 5 | Though they may gather some left - wing support , a large majority of labour MPs are likely to turn down the Foot - Griffiths resolution . |
| 6 | ‘ Abolish Lords ’ . |
| 7 | Mr Foot 's line will be that as labour MPs opposed the government bill which brought life peers into existence , they should not now put forward nominees . |
| 8 | He believes that the House of Lords should be abolished and that labour should not take any steps which would appear to ‘ prop up ’ an out - dated institution . |
| 9 | Since 1958 , 13 labour life peers and peeresses have been created . |
| 10 | Most labour sentiment would still favour the abolition of the House of Lords , but while it remains labour has to have an adequate number of members . |
| 11 | Africans drop rivalry to fight Sir Roy . |
| 12 | By Dennis Newson . |
| 13 | The two rival African nationalist parties of Northern Rhodesia have agreed to get together to face the challenge from Sir Roy Welensky , the federal Premier . |
| 14 | Delegates from Mr Kenneth Kaunda 's united national independence party ( 280,000 members ) and Mr Harry Nkumbula 's African national congress ( 400,000 ) will meet in London today to discuss a common course of action . |
| 15 | Sir Roy is violently opposed to Africans getting an elected majority in Northern Rhodesia , but the colonial Secretary , Mr Iain Macleod , is insisting on a policy of change . |
| 16 | Sir Roy 's united federal party is boycotting the London talks on the protectorate 's future . |
| 17 | Said Mr Nkumbula last night : |
| 18 | ‘ We want to discuss what to do if the British government gives in to Sir Roy and the talks fall through . |
| 19 | There are bound to be demonstrations . ’ |
| 20 | All revealed . |
| 21 | Yesterday Sir Roy 's chief aide , Mr Julius Greenfield , telephoned his chief a report on his talks with Mr Macmillan at Chequers . |
| 22 | Mr Macleod went on with the conference at Lancaster House despite the crisis which had blown up . |
| 23 | He has now revealed his full plans to the Africans and liberals attending . |
| 24 | These plans do not give the Africans the overall majority they are seeking . |
| 25 | African delegates are studying them today . |
| 26 | The conference will meet to discuss the function of a proposed House of Chiefs . |
| 27 | No secret talks — Macleod . |
| 28 | By Hugh Pilcher . |
| 29 | Mr Iain Macleod , the colonial Secretary , denied in the Commons last night that there have been secret negotiations on Northern Rhodesia 's future . |
| 30 | The Northern Rhodesia conference in London has been boycotted by the two main settlers ' parties — the united federal party and the dominion party . |
| 31 | But representatives of Sir Roy Welensky , Prime Minister of the central African federation , went to Chequers at the week - end for talks with Mr Macmillan . |
| 32 | Northern Rhodesia is a member of the federation . |
| 33 | Mr Macleod was not at the week - end meeting . |
| 34 | But he told MPs yesterday : |
| 35 | ‘ I have no knowledge of secret negotiations . ’ |
| 36 | He said Britain had an obligation to consult the federal government . |
| 37 | But the final decision remained with the British government . |
| 38 | Mr James Callaghan , labour 's colonial spokesman , said Sir Roy had no right to delay progress in the talks by refusing to sit round the conference table . |
| 39 | Mr Macleod thought the two Rhodesian parties had refused to attend the talks because Sir Roy had found messages sent from the government were ‘ unsatisfactory . ’ |
| 40 | African delegates to the talks yesterday called on Mr Macmillan to cease his negotiations with Sir Roy 's representative , Mr Julius Greenfield . |
| 41 | He was at Chequers last week - end . |
| 42 | They said they regarded with ‘ growing anger ’ the ‘ gross and unconstitutional ’ interference by Sir Roy 's federal government in the talks . |
| 43 | Informal talks at Lancaster House will resume today . |
| 44 | Deep south smears Jack 's negro . |
| 45 | President Kennedy today defended the appointment of a negro as his housing Minister . |
| 46 | It has aroused strong opposition from the anti - Negro senators of the deep south . |
| 47 | The negro is Mr Robert Weaver of New York . |
| 48 | One of his tasks will be to see there is no racial discrimination in government and state housing projects . |
| 49 | Senator Allen Ellender , of Louisiana , sparked off the opposition by telling a television audience it was ‘ current Washington gossip ’ that Weaver once had communist affiliations . |
| 50 | A letter . |
| 51 | The Senate banking committee , which is headed by another southern Senator — Willis Robertson , of Virginia — met today in closed session to discuss Weaver 's appointment . |
| 52 | Senator Robertson later disclosed he had sent a letter to Mr Kennedy saying he had received several complaints about Weaver 's loyalty . |
| 53 | He said these concerned Mr Weaver 's alleged association with organisations black - listed by the government . |
| 54 | Immediately Mr Kennedy rushed a letter to Senator Robertson saying the federal bureau of investigation had reported on Mr Weaver . |
| 55 | He believed he would perform ‘ outstanding service ’ in his post . |
| 56 | Senator Robertson 's committee has to pass Mr Weaver 's nomination before it can be considered by the full Senate . |
| 57 | Gold - hunting Kennedy shocks Dr A . |
| 58 | Germany must pay . |
| 59 | Offer of <pound>357 m is too small . |
| 60 | President Kennedy is ready to get tough over West Germany 's cash offer to help America 's balance of payments position . |
| 61 | He said bluntly in Washington yesterday that the offer — <pound> 357 million — was not good enough . |
| 62 | And he indicated that his government would try to get Germany to pay more . |
| 63 | He did not mention personal talks with Dr Adenauer , the West German Chancellor . |
| 64 | But he said discussions ‘ on a higher level than in the past ’ might be useful . |
| 65 | The President will probably discuss the problem with Dr Brentano , the West German foreign Minister , who is due in Washington next week . |
| 66 | A big slice of Germany 's ‘ aid ’ is the early payment of a <pound> 210 million debt to America . |
| 67 | United States officials quickly point out that this is money due to America anyway . |
| 68 | And they are unimpressed by the Germans ' claim that they can not pay more than <pound> 357 million without upsetting their own economy . |
| 69 | The Americans say Germany is having it too good and is not paying for the past or for the present . |
| 70 | Tough spot . |
| 71 | The Adenauer government flatly rejected attempts by the Eisenhower government to get them to pay a regular sum towards the cost of keeping American troops in Germany . |
| 72 | These support costs are a big drain on America 's dollar reserves . |
| 73 | Dr Adenauer 's answer is the once - and - for - all cash offer of <pound> 357 million . |
| 74 | President Kennedy 's rejection of it is a painful blow to the West German government . |
| 75 | It will now have to pay more — and increase taxation to do so — or run the obvious risks in upsetting the new American administration . |
| 76 | And , since this is election year in West Germany , Dr Adenauer is in a tough spot . |
| 77 | Waiting . |
| 78 | Joyce Egginton cables : |
| 79 | President Kennedy at his Washington press conference admitted he did not know whether America was lagging behind Russia in missile power . |
| 80 | He said he was waiting for his senior military aides to come up with the answer on February 20 . |
| 81 | This surprising statement was a sharp about - face from his warnings during the presidential election campaign . |
| 82 | He claimed slackness in the Eisenhower administration had caused America to lag behind Russia in nuclear development . |
| 83 | President Kennedy did his best to avoid giving pressmen a direct answer . |
| 84 | Horrified . |
| 85 | That 's a tory doctor 's reaction to the new health charges , says George Brown . |
| 86 | ‘ Probe the drug profits and do n't take it out of mothers and children ’ . |
| 87 | By Hugh Pilcher . |
| 88 | Two men who are poles apart in personality last night dominated parliament 's fiercest battle since the 1959 election — Mr George Brown and Mr Enoch Powell , the health Minister . |
| 89 | Mr Brown , passionate and warm - hearted , led labour 's attack on the higher health charges . |
| 90 | Mr Powell , white - faced and outwardly unemotional , replied with a statistical statement — and ended by inciting labour MPs to angry uproar . |
| 91 | One dealt with the human issue behind the health service ; the other tried to show that the balance - sheet must always come first . |
| 92 | The result of the vote was not in doubt . |
| 93 | For the tories were massed in answer to their whips to defeat a censure motion on the government for ‘ undermining the health service ’ and placing heavy burdens on those least able to bear them . |
| 94 | Mr Brown declared that the policy under censure was monstrous . |
| 95 | It had offended many people far beyond the ranks of labour supporters . |
| 96 | The press , many doctors and public were denouncing the proposals . |
| 97 | The letter . |
| 98 | He quoted from this letter which Mr Gaitskell had received : |
| 99 | ‘ My background is a doctor of 68 , who has practised medicine for 43 years , chiefly as a panel doctor . |
| 100 | ‘ I am a lifelong conservative . |
| 101 | I am horrified and amazed by my party 's proposal to prostitute the whole principle of the state service and to render that service a hardship to poor people . |
| 102 | ‘ After a lifetime of helping others and healing the sick , my considered opinion is that anybody supporting the increased charges is a wicked , old — . ’ |
| 103 | Mr Brown went on : |
| 104 | ‘ We are dealing with a noble edifice which needs an imaginative architect to improve it , but it has got a quantity surveyor . |
| 105 | We have descended from the real problems to fiddling about with bills of cost . |
| 106 | ‘ We believe that a comprehensive medical service , free to the patient at the point of need and with one standard for all sick people , is good and attainable . ’ |
| 107 | Different . |
| 108 | ‘ We remain for it . |
| 109 | But the tories never were . ’ |
| 110 | Interrupted by angry tories , Mr Brown retorted : ‘ The jackals bay when there is nothing better they can do . ’ |
| 111 | He told them that their conception of social services was wholly different — fundamentally different from that of labour . |
| 112 | They would provide an ambulance service for the absolutely wretched — but it would not be too comfortable nor too easy to get . |
| 113 | Answering jeers that it was labour which first put a ceiling on health spending and started charges , Mr Brown reminded the hostile government benches that was done in 1950 because of the financial strain of the Korean war . |
| 114 | In fact , the tories made it worse now for the sick and needy than labour had to make it in 1950 . |
| 115 | And as a percentage of social service expenditure , health had fallen from 28.5 to 23.1 per cent . |
| 116 | Then Mr Brown swung his attack directly to the unsmiling Mr Powell . |
| 117 | He demanded that instead of taking it out of the patients Mr Powell should take ruthless action against the drug making industry , whose profits had risen by up to 400 per cent in the last eight years . |
| 118 | ‘ Mr Powell finds it easier to take it out of mothers , children and sick people than to take on this vast industry , ’ Mr Brown commented icily . |
| 119 | ‘ Let us have a full inquiry into the cost of drugs and the pharmaceutical industry . ’ |
| 120 | The health of children today owed much to the welfare food scheme . |
| 121 | It was maintained during the war . |
| 122 | Now in conditions of tory affluence it seemed it could not be carried on . |
| 123 | When Mr Brown sat down labour MPs cheered for a full minute — and even his bitterest opponents on defence joined in . |
| 124 | The choice . |
| 125 | Mr Powell devoted half his speech to giving details of plans for improving the hospital service , on which indeed the government is making progress . |
| 126 | His basic defence of the health service cuts was that ‘ even after the proposed changes the net cost of the service to the exchequer will have increased over three years by 20 per cent . |
| 127 | ‘ That can not continue without either development being limited or an adjustment being made in financing . ’ |
| 128 | The government decided to adjust the financing — which Mr Powell claimed was underpinning — not undermining — the service . |
| 129 | Answering the attack on ‘ economic charges ’ for welfare foods , Mr Powell said that all these foods would still be free in families receiving regular national assistance grants . |
| 130 | Of the doubled prescription charge his argument was : |
| 131 | ‘ It is ludicrous exaggeration to say that by and large a 2 s charge is any more of a burden than a 1 s charge was in 1949 . ’ |
| 132 | ‘ Resign ’ . |
| 133 | Uproar from the labour side grew as Mr Powell made more and more claims with which MPs disagreed . |