NEXT WEEK'S GENERAL ELECTION IN BRITAIN

Auckland Star, Volume LXXVI, Issue 152, 29 June 1945, Page 4

NEXT WEEK'S GENERAL ELECTION IN BRITAIN

A CERTAIN unreality that, observers on the spot perceive in the attempts of the politicians to arouse the British public's interest in next Thursday's general election may well be attributable to the suddenness with which the election has followed VE day. Apparently it has not been easy for the voters to substitute the tensions of a political campaign for those of a war. But there are features of the election which are of more than ordinary interest. Most importantly, it will be the first time that the people of Britain have gone to the polls in ten years. In 1935 the Baldwin Government received 11,792,332 of the 22,001,837 votes cast. The Conservative party had 387 members returned to Parliament and the Labour party 154. That year there were 615 seats in the House of Commons; this year there are 640. Though the people had no vote for ten years, they were to see three Prime Ministers and four different Governments in power. The Parliament—fourth longest in British history—sat under three monarchs and passed a record 500 Acts. Its days were numbered, however, when the Labour party, on May 21 of this year, declined Mr. Churchill's proposal that the Coalition Government remain in power until Japan's defeat. October Election Rejected

Leader of the Parliamentary Labour party, Mr. C. R. Attlce, reminded Mr. Churchill of his promise that the termination of the war with Germany would fix the date for the election. Rejecting the Labour proposal to hold an October election, the Prime Minister declared that this would disrupt the efficiency of a Government which had already been disturbed by several months of pre-election feeling. On May 24 it was announced that the King had accepted Mr. Churchill's resignation and had asked him to form a "caretaker Government." Parliament would dissolve on June 15, nominations of candidates for the election would close on June 20, and the election itself was fixed for July 5. . t State of parties in Parliament following the Coalition's break-up was:—Conservative 359, Labour IM, Liberal 19, Liberal Nationals 24, National Labour five, Independents 19, Nationals six, I nde P^" Labour party three, Common Wealth three,-Communist one and bcottisn Nationalist one. , n '. Electioneering got under way m circumstances far different from those of a decade ago. A problem for campaigners was the lack or nans through bombing and requisitioning. Long summer evenings—it is the first July election since 1895—provided many counter-attractions to out-of-door political meetings. Socialism v. Individualism After a provocative speech by Mr. Churchill at the comr-encement of the campaign there w;re some mild scurryings on the issue of Socialism versus individualism, but, as The Times pointed out, there was an element of artificiality about the fight. The people, it said,' desired above all to be resettled in adequate homes and productive employment, and were likely to. return to power whichever party, or combination of parties, which seemed to offer the best assurance of'putting these principles into practice. When nominations closed last Monday, 1675 had been received, 97 below 1929's record figure. Labour

.party nominations totalled 601, Conservative 547, Liberals 305. Among the nomination totals of the smaller parties were: Common Wealth 22, Liberal Nationals 52, Communists 20, Independents 41, Nationals 19, Independent Labour party six, Independent Conservatives three, Scottish Nationalists eight, and Welsh Nationalists seven.

Though early surprise was expressed at the small number of women candidates who appeared to be coming forward, the final figure of 88 was a record and was made up as follows: —Labour 42, Liberal 21, Conservative 14, Common Wealth 4, Independent 3, Independent Progressive 2, Communist 2. One of the most notable of woman politicians, Lady Astor, is not standing for this election. Average Age Rises The lapse of time since the last election has meant a rise in the average age of the members of Parliament. Average age per member in 1935 was 51; this has increased to 60. A number of the older members are not seeking re-election, their places largely being taken by servicemen who are estimated to make up nearly one-third of the candidates. A prediction is that the new Parliament will have an average age of 40.

There are plenty of "names" among the candidates, including V.C. winners, barristers, journalists, doctors, scientists and authors. All main party leaders are seeking reelection. An opponent for Mr. Churchill in the Woodford electorate is Mr. Alexander Hancock, a middleaged farmer. In only 26 constituencies will there be a straight fight between the Conservatives and Labour. There will be seven five-cornered, 38 four-cor-nered and 291 three-cornered, contests. A platform item of all parties is the promise of a vigorous housing policv while considerable attention s being paid to women voters who are stated to be chiefly concerned with housing, food and rationing. A sicnificant feature is that no candidate holds out any certainty of improved food supplies. Candidate's Expenses Expenses entailed by a candidate are based on the pre-war rates. Personal expenses must not exceed £100. Expenditure on a campaign must not be more than 6d a head for each elector in the case of country constituencies and 5d a head in boroughs. A candidate must put up a deposit of £150; to save it, he must obtain one-eighth of the total votes cast.

A ton of paper has been granted each candidate, with an extra five hundredweight for every 10,000 electors over 40,000. The allocation of petrol is 750 gallons for candidates in country divisions and 500 gallons for those in boroughs.

Monetary rewards for successful candidates are hardly enticing. The salary is £600 a year, less income tax and secretarial help. "Professional politicians" can therefore be few.

Those who may not stand as candidates are aliens, criminals, bankrupts, peers, judges, Anglican clergymen, deaf mutes and imbeciles. This rule has been applied in the present campaign, nomination of the Rev. William Murray, head of a movement known as the Industrial State Army, being refused on the ground that he was an ordained Anglican minister.

Tradition surrounds the circumstances under which a member maygive up his seat in the Commons. He is not able to resign but he may get himself disqualified by way of the

Chiltern Hundreds formula, or a variation of it. History of this goes back to the time when stewards were appointed to clear robbers from the forests (now non-existent) of Chiltern Hills. Control of this paper job is vested in the Chancellor of the Exchequer, to whom the member wishing to resign makes application, is granted the job, forfeits his seat in the House, then resigns the stewardship which becomes available for some other dissatisfied M.P. at a later date. But thoughts of resignation can be far from the minds of the earnest men and women campaigning in Britain at the moment. They must realise how much work and thought will be needed for the reconstruction of their country; yet 1675 of them want to play an administrative role in the performance of that task.

Voting will take place next Thursday, but the political faith of the voters will not be revealed until the end of July. At that time, the ballot boxes, kept locked pending the receipt of overseas votes, will be opened.