The Bay of Plenty Times FRIDAY, OCTOBER 1, 1943. THE LESSONS OF THE GENERAL ELECTION

Bay of Plenty Times, Volume LXXII, Issue 13265, 1 October 1943, Page 4

The Bay of Plenty Times FRIDAY, OCTOBER 1, 1943. THE LESSONS OF THE GENERAL ELECTION

The lessons to be learned from the General Election of last Saturday are many, and we have no doubt that the political parties will read. mark, and inwardly digest them. The preliminary figures show that the total number of votes cast was 861,934, and of this number the recognised Labour Party polled 410.594, or less than half. On this showing it would not be wrong to "say that the Labour Government does not represent the majority of the people the Dominion. This is a matter for regret, but how it is to be avoided is a problem. Perhaps, proportional voting, as pursued in the Commonwealth of Australia, may be the remedy. It has its defects but it may be less irrational than our system of first past the post In very few electorates did the successful candidate secure a clean majority over all other of his opponents. The Prime Minister, Mr Peter Fraser, had a clear majority in the election of 1938, but at this election the votes polled for his opponents, in the aggregate, exceeded the votes he received. And he is not the only Labour member who has been elected on a minority vote but who has beaten his nearest opponent, which gives him the seat. Another lesson is that the electors did not attach importance to the other parties. The Democratic Labour Party, which was sponsored by Mr J. A. Lee failed to achieve any success; and the Leader of the Party has been defeated. The poor exhibition made by the Democratic Labour candidates is somewhat surprising. It is well known that Mr Lee is an avowed Socialist. Socialism and. democracy are not convertible terms but stand poles apart, Democracy stands for freedom while Socialism spells compulsion, control, restriction and regimentation. The Democratic Labour Party must look about for a.different policy, one that will more closely suit a freedom-loving nation. Well, the election has been held, and instead of affecting the Avar effort of the country is likely to promote it and bring about reforms which will tend to improve that effort. We people will agree that the real meaning of the results of last Saturday's election, is that the National Party secured a definite moral victory. It captured from Labour quite a number of seats, and the fact that two Cabinet Ministers were defeated will not create a good impression in London, Washington, Ottawa, Canberra or Pretoria. We may expect that the Government will see the necessity of modifying its policy of Socialism. Compulsion and control must be done away with. The people are ready and willing to support in the war effort, but they do not want this war effort used for furthering Socialism. The Labour Government will have to deal with the peace problems which will be many and complicated. The basis on which the peace is to be built is freedom for the individual, the family and the nation and that freedom the people of New Zealand will and do demand. But this kind of freedom is not what Socialists want.