| − | '''"little local difficulties"''' were words which [[Harold Macmillan]] used to underplay the resignation of his Treasury team: the Chancellor of the Exchequer, [[Peter Thorneycroft]], and his two junior ministers, [[Nigel Birch]] and [[Enoch Powell]], over government spending. Macmillan uttered these words in a calm way as he left for a Commonwealth tour, managing to conceal his anxiety. | + | '''"little local difficulties"''' were words which [[Harold Macmillan]] used to underplay the resignation of his Treasury team: the Chancellor of the Exchequer, [[Peter Thorneycroft]], and his two junior ministers, [[Nigel Birch]] and [[Enoch Powell]], after the Cabinet had refused to agree to an additional £50 million reduction in public expenditure. Macmillan uttered these words in a calm way as he left for a Commonwealth tour, managing to conceal his anxiety. |