In 1955, in order to provide a safety valve for African political self-expression, the Colonial Office agreed that the number of seats reserved for Africans on the Legislative Council should increase from three to five.
In March 1957, TDT Banda, a leading member of Congress supported by the younger element, went to the Gold Coast to participate in that country's independence celebrations, and while he was there visited Banda in order to try to persuade him.