§ Q2. Mr. Donnellyasked the Prime Minister whether, in view of the increasing burdens upon Ministers, he will now announce steps to alleviate these burdens.
§ The Prime MinisterSince I formed my Administration I have made a number of disposition to alleviate the burden on senior Ministers. These arrangements are working well.
§ Mr. DonnellyRegarding the double banking of some Ministers, has the Prime Minister studied the criticism of this sort of proposal made by the right hon. Member for Woodford (Sir W. Churchill) in 1935, when Mr. Eden was made Minister for League of Nations Affairs; and, in particular, the reference the right hon. Gentleman made to Mr. Lloyd George's statement that it was not a question of whether one general was better than another but whether one general was better than two generals? To borrow a phrase from the Prime Minister's own particular vocabulary of rudeness, does he say that two Ministerial disused slag-heaps are better than one?
§ Mr. ShinwellSurely the Prime Minister will agree that there is a very simple answer to this problem, and that he can draw the conclusion?
§ The Prime MinisterI was about to point out that, while we are very grateful for the sympathy, all these burdens are, after all, self-imposed.