(2 of 2)
Drained by Debate. Tory backbenchers peppered the Prime Minister's speech with caustic cries of "Hear, hear!", hoots of laughter and shouts of "Resign, resign!" Distrustful financial analysts doubted that spending had been reduced enough to stiffen the pound, and Laborites were bitterly resentful of the domestic curbs. For all the pained outcries, however, only one Cabinet member resigned—Lord Longford, leader of the House of Lords. The rest of the Cabinet, including some who had been expected to leave, stayed on with the justification that no single Cabinet department had been singled out to bear the brunt of austerity. But it was a sullen Commons that gave Wilson, drained by two days of debate, his vote of confidence. The vote was 304 to 9, with all the Tories and the 26 breakaway Laborites abstaining.