The North West Region of CND has addressed the following letter to Harold Wilsons :
"The North West Region of CND welcomes the appointment of a Minister to deal with the question of disarmament, in so far as this will mean that the matter will receive greater and more detailed attention. It would appear, however, that the new Minister's function will be confined to advising and assisting with international negotiations. ‘e make this assumption from the fact that the appointment is made to the Foreign Office and that Mr. Alun Gwynne-Jones is a specialist on nuclear strategy. There is no indication in this appointment, or in any of the sppointments made in the last week, that any Minister has the specific responsibility for examining the effects of disarmament on the nation's economy.
"In the last year of office of the previous government it was noticeable that many Conservative spokesmen used the argument that defence contracts such as the Polaris programme in Barrow and Birkenhead and the TSR-2 programme in the North West were helping to alleviate the unemployment problem. During this time CND has drawn attention to the need for the adoption of a positive programme of alternative forms of work in the shipbuilding, aircraft and other industries. Any serious appr°4ch to disarmament must imply a reduction of military expenditure and a consequent increase of expenditure on peaceful purposes. we hope that in drafting your economic plans you will take this into account and will charge one of your Ministezs with the specific responsibility for a thorough examination of the economics of disarmament."