Comers & Goers in the Macmillan Government

With a national vote of confidence to strengthen his hand, Harold Macmillan is likely to do some reshuffling of his political first team in the months ahead. Some top Tories and their prospects:

Richard Austen Butler, 56, Home Secretary and Leader of the House of Commons. Top Tory thinker and the man who oversaw the party's postwar shift to "the New Conservatism," i.e., free enterprise heavily tempered by welfare statism, "Rab" Butler is distrusted by many fellow Tories for reasons ranging from his barbed wit to his prewar identification with Neville Chamberlain's appeasement. Although he remains the No. 2 man in the party, Butler may well be too old for the job the next time the Tories come to choose a new Prime Minister, and there is considerable question whether Macmillan will give him the job he wants now: Foreign Secretary.

Iain Norman Macleod, 45, Minister of Labor. Neither wealthy nor of aristocratic background, affable, bright-eyed Iain Macleod is believed by Tory leaders to have a special knack for reflecting the opinions of the middle class, added considerably to his political luster by correctly insisting that last week's election should be fought on domestic economic issues. An instinctive political animal, Macleod has been ambitiously reading up on Colonial Office policies and problems, but Macmillan may well decide he is still needed in the Labor Ministry to cope with Britain's unions. Either way, his name is at the top of just about everybody's list of future Tory Prime Ministers.

Derick Heathcoat Amory, 59, Chancellor of the Exchequer. A tall, angular bachelor who has served ably in several ministries (Pensions, Board of Trade, Agriculture), Heathcoat (pronounced hethcut) Amory never appears to seek power, but is ready and willing when it is thrust upon him. Many British pols believe that he will eventually make his muted, diffident way to the Prime Ministry itself, but his age, even more than Rab Butler's, is against him. For the present he will probably keep his job at the Treasury.

Edward Heath, 43, Chief Tory Whip in the House of Commons. The man responsible for the cohesion and discipline of Tory M.P.s, quiet, determined Ted Heath performed near miracles by his firm but gentle enforcement of party loyalty during the Suez crisis. Widely considered the personification of Tory good sense and good manners, he is likely to be rewarded with a Cabinet post--perhaps the Ministry of Labor, if Iain Macleod moves on.

John Boyd-Carpenter, 51, Minister of Pensions. Grandson of the "silvertongued" Bishop of Ripon who was Queen Victoria's favorite preacher, Boyd-Carpenter is an effective verbal duelist in the House of Commons, a stickler for detail, and a vigorous administrator who is likely to get any particularly tough chore facing the Macmillan administration.

Reginald Maudling, 42, Paymaster General. The youngest member of the Cabinet and the man who managed Britain's luckless attempt to set up a Europe-wide Free Trade Area, Maudling is unflappable and a persuasive speaker, with the gift of making complex topics sound both interesting and simple. But he is regarded by many as incurably lazy--a flaw that limits his hopes. He is discussed for appointment as President of the Board of Trade, or for the proposed Ministry of Science.

Sir Edward Boyle, 36, Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Education. A mercurial, quick-witted bachelor who resigned from the government in 1956 over Suez, burly, loose-limbed Sir Edward Boyle was invited back when Macmillan became Prime Minister. Though not clearly in line for a top post, he is a man to watch.

Lord Hailsham, 52, Conservative Party chairman and Lord President of the Council. A reluctant nobleman who tried to renounce his viscountcy when he fell heir to it in 1950, peppery Lord Hailsham was First Lord of the Admiralty at the time of Suez. As party chairman he has done a good deal of clowning and flailing about to win publicity, came under heavy fire early last week when jittery Tories decided that Labor was profiting from his slapdash tactics. Now his stock has jumped as sharply as the price of steel shares, but chances are that he will insist on returning to the law.

Duncan Sandys, 51, Minister of Defense. Married to--but separated from--Sir Winston Churchill's daughter Diana, Duncan Sandys has put his name and imprint on Britain's policy of concentrating on nuclear power while reducing conventional armament, is not loved by the generals. One of the question marks in a new Macmillan Cabinet, Sandys may be moved upstairs without a corresponding increase in power.

Selwyn Lloyd, 55, Foreign Secretary. Charged with the task of justifying the Suez invasion to the world and, harder yet, to the House of Commons, Lloyd has been haunted ever since by rumors that he is about to retire or be tossed bodily out of office. Often awkward in public, Lloyd is skilled in private negotiations and unhesitatingly loyal to Macmillan, who likes to keep foreign-policymaking in his own hands. Though not slated for promotion, Lloyd seems certain to remain Foreign Secretary--at least for the next six months or so.

Alan Lennox-Boyd, 54, Colonial Secretary. Under heavy Labor attack for his defense of colonial misadventures in Africa (the Hola prison murders in Kenya; the police excesses in Nyasaland when 51 Africans were slain), strapping, sophisticated Alan Lennox-Boyd has hinted that he may retire from politics and help his Guiness in-laws run their breweries. It is unlikely that Tory leaders will try to change his mind.

Sir David Eccles, 55, President of the Board of Trade. One of the bright young men who helped revitalize the Tory Party after its crushing defeat in 1945, handsome Sir David Eccles has a penchant for putting his foot in his mouth, has lost stature as his responsibilities increased. The most he can reasonably expect in the new Macmillan government: an indeterminate stay in his present job.

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