Eighty years ago Churchill and his much-loathed son wield a political club
Churchill returned from America to find distinct unhappiness with the conduct of the war, especially the defeats by Japan in the Far East. He moved to pre-empt the grumblers by putting himself to a vote of confidence in the House of Commons. It was an effective albeit heavy-handed move; the debate saw a fair amount of pointed but poorly focused criticism, but when it came to the vote only the far left MP James Maxton opposed the motion. The Conservative Sir John Wardlaw-Milne insinuated that some ministers were not up to the job and compared Churchill to a Caliph managing his harem. Churchill's critics were subjected to a savage and occasionally amusing assault by his son Randolph, who had recently been elected, but this might actually have worked against the prime minister by giving credence to the objection that he was sustained by a charmed circle that was more of a court than a government. Randolph was - deservedly - unpopular and his claim on the major's commission he he