NEW LABOUR LEADER

Evening Post, Volume CV, Issue 26, 31 January 1923, Page 9

NEW LABOUR LEADER

IN BRITISH PARLIAMENT

A SURPRISE VICTORY FOR LEFT WING.

Mr. Ramsay Mac Donald. was, on 21st November, elected leader of the British' Parliamentary Labour Party. It was a surprise decision,' and was accepted in the Lobby, as a victory for the Independent Labour Party, or, in other words, for tho left wing. The meeting of the party took. place at the House of Commons, and the attendance was so numerous as', practically to fill one of the large committee rooms. Afterwards, saye the "Daily Telegraph," the following statement % was issued :—"The Parliamentary Labour Party held-its first |neeting at noon for the purpose of electing officers and considering the party's position in the House. It was decided that the officera to bo elected should serve during this session and the 1 session beginning in the New Year. Mr. J. Ramsay Mac Donald was elected chairman or leader, and: Mr, J. R. Clynes deputy. Mr. Stephen Walsh was elected senior vice-chairman, and Colonel Wedgwood second vice-chairman. Mr. Arthur Henderson was elected Chief Whip and Mr.- Ben Spoor was elected Acting-Chief Whip until such tima as.Mr. Henderson secures a seat in Parliament. Messrs. F. Hall, C. G. Anraion, W. Lunn, Neil Mac Lean, J. Robertson, T. Griffiths, and Morgan Jones were elected Junior Whips. Being by far the strongest body of members in opposition.to the Government, the party has entered its claim to bo recognised as the official Opposition, with all the rights and privileges accorded to it."

The meeting lasted about two hour*, and while there is a definite denial that any heat was imparted into the discussions, some of the speeches are stated to have been marked by great vigour. It is evident.that the Scottish section intends tp do its best to force the pace. The members from beyond the Tweed held 1 a preliminary conference, and subsequently at the full party meeting they pressed strongly Labour's rights to claim all the privileges of tli3 official Opposition. They also demanded that there should be no delay in raising the questions of unemployment and housing. A NARROW MAJORITY. The displacement of Mr. Clynes from the leadership of the pariy in Parliament was accomplished by only a very narrow majority. His re-election was moved by Mr. J. H. Thomas, and in the voting he had the support of the majority of the trade union members, who, unh'ke ( some,of. the new recruits to the'party," do hot hold the view that' quiet methods are neceseari lij ineffective. It was a Lanarkshire man, Mr. John Robertson, who proposed- Mr. Ramsay MaeDonald as leader. The Independent Labour Party members and tho Scottish contingent backed'up'the proposal with all their strength. Voting' was by billot, and it resulted as follows:—FopMr. Mac Donald, 61, for Mr. Clynes, 57. Mr. Mac Donald took the chair, and at once moved the election of Mr. Clynes as deputy-leader, to which the meeting unanimously agreed. In the course of an interview afterwards Mr. Clynes said:—"This is not tho first, but the seventh, time the Parliamentary Labour Party has changed itschairman. lam not in the least disturbedby the result, though I dislike the 'procedure reported in the Press whereby a large number of new members decided for a change in the chairmanship before the party meeting was hel# Quarrels among leaders have been the curse of parties, and I never will take part in them. I have always said that our cause is greater than its advocates. That is why I accepted the position of deputy-leader, and will heartily co-operate with Mr. Mac Donald in the work to be done.". NEW LEADER'S RECORD. Mr. Ramsay Mac Donald, who is 56 years of age, is a native of Lossiemouth. Educated at a board school, he was in early life a pupil teacher, then a clerk in a warehouse, and afterwards private secretary to the late Right Hon. Thomas Lough, M.P. He entered Parliament, after an unsuccessful attempt in 1900, as Labour member for Leicester in 1905, as the colleague of Mr. Henry Broadhurst, a trade unionist of the old school of Labour leaders. He continued to represent the constituency till 1918, when h" was badly beaten by Mr. J. F. Green. At the recent election he was returned for *he Aberavon Division of Glamorganshire. In 1900 he became secretary ,of the Labour Party, a post he held till 1911, and during the years 1906 to 1909 he also acted as chairman of the Independent Labour Party. From 1911 to 1914 he was leader of the Labour Party. He al6o served as a member of the London County Council and a member of the Royal-Commission on Indian Public Services. Mr. Ramsay Mac Donald is considered to be not only one of the ablest but also one of the most astute men of his party. Widely read, he is a good though dogmatic speaker of the cultured type. His attitude and some of.his publications, particularly in the earlier period of the war, met with wide and vehement denunciation.