BRITISH ELECTIONS.

Bay of Plenty Times, Volume LX, Issue 10698, 17 October 1931, Page 3

BRITISH ELECTIONS.

ORGANISED MOD IN SKAIIAM. London. Oct. 15 An organised mob. booing and cat calling, howled down Mr MacDonald at a meeting at Shotton Colliery, Seaham. Mr MacDonald tried for a quarter of an hour to speak but finally the meeting had to be abandoned.

In 22 more constituencies yesterday candidates withdrew to avoid splitting of the National Government vote. To-morrow is nomination day, ami last moment efforts are being made to add to this number in the remaining cases where local political organisaions hav hithtrto resisted the appeals of the National party leaders for a united front to the Opposition candidates.

The imminence of nomination day has led to many further arrangements to prevent cut-throat contests, including the Liberal withdrawal from Finsbury to give Mr G. M. Gillett, Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Transport, a straight fight against Labour.

Last night it was Labour’s turn to broadcast its case to the nation, and Mr .1. R. Clynes was chosen as spokesman. He denied that the Labour Ministrv had run away from their posts, and said that it required more courage to resist the pressure which they had faced than to surrender to that pressure. To meet the reasonable demands of the unemployed would be the best form of insurance of national safety. “Doles" and relief were not features of the Socialist State, but were symptoms of disorganised capitalism. He insisted that the motives and the policy of the Labour party were as honourable and as patriotic as those of its opponents. The election campaign so far has been conducted very calmly. Meetings have been well attended and speakers have suffered little interruption.