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Right Wing, Left Wing. In the face of these challenges the 68-year-old Prime Minister has often seemed tired, indecisive and reluctant to face up to his opposition, notably a small but vociferous group of Tories vigorously opposing his determination to lead Britain into the Common Market. They insist that Britain owes its primary allegiance to the Commonwealth and fear that the Common Market's built-in pressure toward political unity would narrow Britain's sovereignty. Worrying about the competition of continental farmers, Britain's prosperous farm bloc also opposes the Common Market. Ironically, the right-wing Tory opponents of the Common Market have found allies in the extreme left of the Labor Party. Many doctrinaire socialists feel that if Britain joins, it would be all but impossible to complete the nationalization of British industry, because the slowdowns and dislocations inevitably caused by nationalization, even if only temporary, would not be permissible in the stiffly competitive Common Market; they also know that British labor would have to work much harder against continental competition.
There is similar dissatisfaction with the government's African and U.N. policies.
Right-wing empire loyalists and younger Tory businessmen with a financial stake in Africa deplore what they regard as the government's unseemly haste in granting independence to African colonies that are not ready for self-government, let alone responsibility in world affairs. These critics have still not forgiven the U.N. action against Katanga, and regard Foreign Secretary Lord Home's bitter criticism of the U.N. last December as their charter. But not all the Tory discontent with the government comes from right-wingers. The Bow Group,* an unofficial progressive organization with nearly 1,000 Tory members, has attacked the government's "weak and puzzling" record on colonial issues, has urged that the government back the U.N. more firmly.
Not Yet MMG. In the House of Commons last week, the Labor Party proposed censuring Lord Home's anti-U.N. speech. Gleefully echoing some of the Tory backbenchers' own criticisms of Macmillan,
Laborite Harold Wilson attacked "the same faltering hand, the same dithering indecision and confusion." But Macmillan held his ground, the Tories closed ranks against Labor, and the censure motion was handily defeated. Earlier, Sir Harry Legge-Bourke, a leading Tory backbencher, had called on Macmillan to resign in favor of a younger man. "The country today needs unflagging vigor, undaunted hope, infallible faith and the forward look," said Legge-Bourke. "I do not believe that it is fair to expect those who have borne such heavy burdens so courageously for so long to go on until they either break down or bemuse the public mind."