BRITISH LABOUR PARTY

Auckland Star, Volume 55, Issue 95, 22 April 1924, Page 5

BRITISH LABOUR PARTY

CONFERENCE AT YORK. MR. MacOONALD'S BELIEFS. NO NEED FOR ELECTIONS. (By Cable.—Vre?s Association.—Copyright.) LOXDON, April 21. At the opening of the conference of the British Independent Labour party at York, the Prime Minister, Mr. Ramsay MaeDonald, said he saw no reason why the country should be bothered with a general election for two or three years. He believed his duty was to carry on the Government and keep off a general election, which nobody wanted, and which, if it came, would settle nothing. Mr. Mac Donald said he did not believe, in a coalition, and lie did not think an election could be avoided by that means. It would be two or three years before Europe could be placed on a peaceful footing and before industrial relations could be re-established in anything like a normal way. The existence of a Labour Government adds interest to the conference, as 26 members of the Government and 129 Labour members of the House of Commons belong to that section of the party. The remainder owe allegiance to the Trade X T nion Congress. Lord Parmoor, Lord President of the Council, and Messrs. John Wheatley, Minister of Health, C. P. Trevelyan, President of the Board of Education, F. W. Jowett, First Commissioner of Works, and Morgan Jones, Parliamentary Secretary of Education, were on the platform when the president, Mr. Clifford Allan, addressed 450 delegates, including 25 Labour members of the House of Commons. Mr. Mac Donald is to attend again on Monday in order to answer criticism of the povernment, which is expected to be frank, from those dissatisfied with the Government's reluctance to adopt a bold policy in carrying out Labour's programme. Mr. Allan said that members of the party were, called upon to be constructors, rather than destroyers. It was the duty of the Socialists organised as independent Labour to assist .the Government by maintaining persistent pressure in. favour, firstly of increasing the gold use of power for Socialist measures and administration, secondly of vigorous propaganda of Socialist knowledge in readiness for the next election. He said he did not think the present system of government, under which no party had a majority in the House of Commons, was likely to last long. Referring to the "Liberals. Mr. Allan said: ?fo party can save Europe an 4 build up the next stage of our civilisation whose only programme is dislike »f both the. other political parties. The Labour Government is a government of common people. It is a government of men and women who have suffered, who have been poor with the poor, who have been (underpaid, and unemployed. No party ever had the world at its feet as Labour has. It must not ! disappoint humanity.—(Router.)