British Politics

Press, Volume XCVIII, Issue 29068, 3 December 1959, Page 16

British Politics

The decisive margin in the General Election in Britain naturally directed attention to the plight of the Labour Party after its third successive defeat. Now, the realisation that others also have their problems is growing. The national interest, for instance, is not served by discrediting the Labour Party to the extent that, in the meantime at least, it does not represent an alternative government. If this situation did no more than restore some of the influence of back-benchers and encourage public confidence in Parliament as the centre of government all would be well. It is more likely to lead to the exertion of political pressure outside Parliament. The Parliamentary system functions better with the clash of opinion between two strong parties than with a strong centre party and weak but extreme wings. This points to one of the Conservative Party’s own problems, summed up by the political correspondent of “ The Times ” when he said that the private slogan of the Government had become, “Don’t let our Right “wing ruin us”. The Government’s big majority is a temptation to the diehards to urge reactionary policies, and they have already shown signs of enjoying the temptation. The Home Secretary (Mr Butler) has proved, over the question of corporal punishment, that the diehards can' be dealt with. Perhaps a more difficult problem, because it is less apparent, arises from the very success of the practical approach of the Conservatives to current issues. It would not be difficult for this empirical method to degenerate into expediency. Both these problems can be illustrated by reference to colonial policy in Africa. The Government must show that it is concerned about

the welfare of the African peoples and must realise that it cannot stand against the

march of nationalism; but at the same time it has a duty to the British settlers who were invited to emigrate in the expectation of quite a different future from that they now face. Neither reaction nor expediency will be a good guide in making the difficult decisions of the next few years.

The Conservative Party may be helped to overcome its troubles by a revival on the Radical side of British politics providing both a check and a spur. Labour intellectuals seem to be approaching a realisation that more than policies need consideration. Mr H. B. Usher, a former Labour supporter, in a letter to the “ Economist ”, suggests that “in place of the “ old crusade against flagrant “ evils Labour now seems to “ concentrate on a somewhat “spiteful envy of the successful”, and that “it may well “be the case that Labour needs “a new and modern policy. It “needs still more, with prayer “ and fasting, to examine its “ conscience ”. John Cole, the Labour correspondent of the “ Guardian ”, has pointed out two ways in which the powerful trade union movement could undertake this exercise. It “could recapture the sympathy “ it once enjoyed as the cham- “ pion of the underdog if it “ would undertake internally “one piece of practical socialism—evolve a system to give “ some priority to the poorer “ workers ” in wage negotiations. It could show a willingness “to "reason with the non-unionist , . rather than a determination to persecute him”. It is said that Labour’s illiberalism rather than its socialism has repelled many voters. The original emphasis of socialism was on individual freedom. If this emphasis could be restored, the party would be able to resume its rightful place as an alternative government, balancing the Parliamentary system.