§ 48. Mr. V. Yatesasked the Prime Minister if he will consider abolishing the title of Secretary of State for War for a more appropriate one; and if he will also appoint a Minister for Peace and Good Will.
§ The Prime MinisterI said on 7th March that in any legislation dealing with Ministerial responsibilities for defence the matter of titles would be considered. As regards the second part of the Question, peace and good will between Governments come by the quality of their efforts rather than the titles of their Ministers.
§ Mr. YatesDoes not the Prime Minister think it is time that we should alter a title such as "Secretary of State for War"? If the Prime Minister considers that the object of all Ministers is to make peace proposals with quality, then would it not be possible to abolish that title and also to charge a Minister with the object of creating good will without necessarily the sanction of military power?
§ The Prime MinisterI agree that the titles "Secretary of State for War" and the "War Office" may be somewhat anachronistic, but they have gone on for a long time and nobody has changed them. I explained the other day that we were considering the whole set-up of the Minister of Defence and the Service Ministries, and I would hardly trouble the House with legislation on just this single point until it was possible to deal with the wider aspect of any re-organisation.