BRITISH ELECTION TO-DAY

Press, Volume LXXI, Issue 21630, 14 November 1935, Page 13

BRITISH ELECTION TO-DAY

MORE VOTERS THAN EVER BEFORE MR BALDWIN'S STATEMENT TO NATION (BRITISH OFFICIAL WIRELESS. J (Received November 13, 7.5 p.m.) RUGBY, November 12. Less than 48 hours remain before the nation goes to the polls, and almost every one of the 1348 candidates has many platform engagements before the campaign closes. Party organisations are working at full pressure on the final canvass of their supporters. The number of electors on the rolls is the largest which has ever taken part in a parliamentary election, having grown from 29,952,361 in 1929 to 31,305,527. The normal voting hours are from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., but in many constituencies, in order to suit the convenience of voters, the polling booths will be open on Thursday from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. The counting of the votes in some of the 300 boroughs will be undertaken immediately after the polling closes, and the results will be known within a few hours. In the more scattered county constituencies the votes will be counted on the following morning, and early on Friday afternoon nearly all t*~e results will have been declared. The Prime Minister, Mr Stanley Baldwin, made his final speech at Newcastle to-night, and nearly every other Minister, including Mr Neville Chamberlain and Sir Samuel Hoare, spoke at one or more meetings to-day. Major C. R. Attlee, leader of the Labour party, spoke at Nottingham.

Lively Night Expected London is preparing for the liveliest election night since the war. Special licensing extensions to midnight have been granted to public houses, as well as to hotels and fashionable restaurants. Mr Baldwin issued the following final message to the nation: "The steady recovery over four years made in Britain is most envied by all nations. The world is watching, because it realises that the continuance of a strong, experienced, and stable government here will be a vital factor in the preservation of world peace through the League of Nations." Mr Baldwin gave a pledge that the Government would not spend a penny more on defences than was necessary for safety, and would strive to bring the nations into an agreement on the all-round reduction of armaments. Mr Ramsay Mac Donald faced an anerv audience at Shotton and referred to "mob dictatorship.' Ine meeting prematurely closed.