Henry Brooke was appointed to the new position of Chief Secretary to the Treasury in October 1961 so Lloyd did not have to spend all his time arguing with Cabinet colleagues about their planned level of expenditure. The NEDC was unlikely to reap any benefits by the time of the next general election, nor to help in reining pay in. There was a big pay increase in the electricity industry in November 1961, because of the strength of the unions and the weakness of the minister Richard Wood. The Pay Pause had brought short term benefits but anomalies had made it unpopular, something it shared with later incomes policies. There was even a threat to strike by the 120 workers who made cricket balls.