SMall Shuffle

When Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill returned to London after a rest cure devoted to reading Trollope, feeding tropical fish, dictating his memoirs, and holding conferences with his top Cabinet officers, the London press widely predicted that some important changes would be made in his government (TIME, Sept. 7). Last week, in the casual manner of British politics, the P.M. announced the reshuffling, but the big news was that it was only a small shuffle after all.

The principal changes: 1) three new ministers (for food, education and agriculture) were promoted to Cabinet rank, including Minister of Education Florence Horsbrugh, first woman ever admitted to a Conservative Cabinet; 2) the "overlordship" system--a Churchill invention under which a Cabinet officer supervises a cluster of related departments, but has no direct control over any of them--was dropped as a failure, and so were two overlords, Lord Leathers and Sir Arthur Salter; 3) a saving of $26,600 a year in salaries was effected, to the delight of economy-minded Sir Winston.

Contrary to advance gossip, Churchill kept a firm grip on all the powers and responsibilities of Prime Minister, and Anthony Eden, due to return from his convalescence at month's end, stuck to his Foreign Secretary's post. Shelved, if not abandoned, was the much-bruited plan to elevate Heir Apparent Eden to Deputy P.M. and lighten Sir Winston's load. But until they get the doctor's reports on how Torydom's Big Two are bearing up, Britons are taking no bets that the reshuffling is finished.

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