SPECTATOR'S NOTEBOOK
GEORGE HUTCHINSON
One of fain Macleod's most endearing quali- ties, as many have testified since his death, was loyalty—loyalty to friends and to prin- ciples alike. I have seen ample proof of it over the years. I recall, for example, a meeting of the national executive committee of the Conservative party in 1963, shortly after the final explosion in the Profumo affair. kin was then joint chairman of the party with Lord Poole. Towards the end of a strained and troubled afternoon one zealot rose to his feet and called on Macleod not only to denounce John Profumo, appar- ently in the name of the party, but to do so in a public statement. White-faced and tense, lain heard him out, and then, in a voice icy with contempt, made his answer. 'Jack and Valerie Profumo have been friends of my wife and myself for many years,' he said, and we're not going to desert them now or ever. They will always be our friends. I have not another word to say.'
That was Iain—and that is Eve Macleod as well. Through all their ups and downs to- gether (and both suffered more than their share of illness and disability) Eve's spirit never failed. She was unflinching, sometimes fierce, in defending him whenever he was under attack, she was always at his side in rough weather. I should like to think that Eve Macleod will be offered and may be persuaded to accept a life peerage, so that in her own right she can still play a part in public affairs from an appropriate and becoming platform. In her, as in Lady Gait- skell, we shall always feel another presence too.
True eminence
lain Macleod was in the line of the great Tory romantics; and, like his old political antagonist Aneurin Bevan, he was one of nature's aristocrats. He was undoubtedly the most interesting, innovating and imaginative member of the Cabinet; and thus the most exciting. More than that, he was, I believe, one of the four most important and signifi- cant figures in the modern—the postwar— Conservative party. When the history of the party since 1945 comes to be written, lain Macleod will be seen to tower above all but three of his fellows—and with those three, I think, he will stand equal.
An unfilled gap
Mr Heath has replaced his Chancellor (and I wish Mr Barber good fortune), but in the larger responsibilities of government he can- not replace the influence embodied in Iain Macleod, for there is nobody to provide its equivalent. Macleod would have made him- self felt in many spheres besides the TreasurY, although it is altogether likely that he would have proved to be the strongest reforming Chancellor since Lloyd George. He had the right political weight, authority, wisdom and assurance. His natural gifts apart, he had prepared himself well for what he properly saw as an historic role. For the thorough- ness of that preparation Edward Heath is entitled to much of the credit. At first, Iain did not greatly care for his leader's manner and mode of opposition, with all the empha- sis on research and planning: temperament- ally, he was more attracted to the expansive Churchill style, which he remembered (from his days in the Conservative Research De- partment after the war) as rather dashing and romantic. He was suspicious of over- much detail, of spelling things out too fully in opposition and thereby, as he thought, leaving less elbow room for office. But he was won round, and in the end no one was more pleased than himself that he could enter Treasury Chambers so well equipped technically for the social innovations which he was determined to set in train.
The leadership
It is too early, perhaps, to assess his real relationship with Heath. It varied. In 1950. Heath was a founder-member (with Cuthbert Alport, Angus Maude and John Rodgers) of the One Nation Group, which Iain Mac- leod and Enoch Powell soon joined. They were close then and they were close again in recent years; but in between they were not always at one. Macleod himself had of course hoped to succeed Sir Alec as leader of the party, but the contest, just five years ago, came too soon for him. His Young Turks were not yet ready. Other Young Turks favouring Edward Heath were better prepared; and so were the vrs behind Reg- gie Maudling. I think that Macleod let Heath in, for almost to a man his followers switched to Heath when Macleod decided not to run. If Macleod had stood he would not have won: the best estimate is that he would have received forty-five votes. But he would have deprived Heath of such vital support that victory would in all probability have gone to Maudling. Macleod himself voted for Heath.
Gas attack
As a political correspondent, I used to spend most of my working hours in the House of Commons, but never once, in a span of seven years, did I witness even a mild disturbance in the public gallery. I sometimes thought about it, with surprise. The easy-going arrangements seemed to invite interruption and disorder, yet they have seldom occurred. Last week's gas outrage has ensured that access to the mother of parliaments will no longer be quite so free. It is a great pity. though in a destructive era somebody was bound to spoil things. 1 suppose.
From all accounts last week's experience was terrifying for everyone in the Chamber. as well as physically distressing to a good many. Peter Paterson was in the press gallery and although unaware of any immediate effects he was sick four hours later. Is it right to go on using es gas in Northern Ireland. however discriminating the army may be?
Litter lubbers
As I write, I look out on a beautiful seashore unblemished by anything except a long rim of plastic cups — white beakers, green coffee filters. No. it isn't the litter of uncaring holi- day crowds: few people come to this beach.
We have the cross-Channel ferries to thank for the eyesore; the stewards just dump the stuff overboard instead of carting it back to port. Hence my pleasure on reading the other day that a way has been found—by scientists at the University of Aston — to make plastic containers crumble to dust through exposure to the elements.
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