POLITICAL ENGLAND

Evening Post, Volume CXX, Issue 110, 5 November 1935, Page 10

POLITICAL ENGLAND

INTEREST IN ELECTION

WORKING OF DEMOCRACY

SOME TYPICAL SCENES

(By A. F. T. Chorlton.)

If it is true that democracy works better in Britain than anywhere else in the world, the reason must lie in the interest people take in politics. What would New Zealanders think, for instance, of having to pay to hear the Prime Minister or any other leader deliver a speech? In Britain a charge will be made for admission to the hall where such an address is being given, and, if the speaker of the evening is one of the "big guns," the charge will be considerable. Thus when Mr. Lloyd George propounded his "New Deal" plan in Manchester last March, the minimum price for a place in the famous Free Trade Hall was 2s, and some people had to pay four and five times as much. Even at that this great auditorium, which is supposed to hoid over four thousand people, was pa-iked to the doors arid people wer; sitting in the gangways and leaning against the walls, and what is more Mr. Lloyd George had to address about another thousand in an overflow meeting, for which the charge-was Is. No popular prima donna or musical hall artist could draw a better "house." HOW MOSLEY BEAT THE MOB. The case of Lloyd George was not unique, for when I wanted to hear the British Fascist, Sir Oswald Mosley, in the course of one of his provincial tours, I found I had to reserve accommodation and pay 2s. This time we got fun as well as oratory, for the police had to smuggle Sir Oswald and his fellow Black Shirts through an infuriated Lancashire mob, who would have torn him to pieces, if they had got him, such is the interest they taks in politics. As it was, I saw Sir Oswald and his party pack into highpowered cars in the courtyard of the local Town Hall, where the meeting took place, behind locked gates. Then when the engines were "revving" hard, the gates were suddenly flung open and out dashed the cai3 so fast that the crowd could do nothing more than dodge out of the way and speed the departure with a hail of missiles. Political feeling runs high in Britain at any time, but when it comes to Fascism, there is always risk of violence. I saw no signs of favour for Fascism, except perhaps at the older universities, where it has become fashionable in a certain set as a counter to Communism. Neither counts in real English politics. FUTURE OF LIBERALISM. Real politics in England are run by institutions which do not seem quite to have their counterpart in New Zealand. These are the political clubs, Conservative and Liberal, representing the older parties in politics and to be found singly or severally in the various electorates. They are particularly strong in the north where the clubs occupy prominent buildings in all the principal towns. Architecturally the Liberal clubs are usually superior, for this was once the stronghold of Liberalism in Britain, but today there is an air of decay about some of them, for Liberalism has been moribund in these parts for over a dozen years now. I found as a guest that the social side tended to predominate over the political. As all have their liquor licences they are not unlike the New Zealand working men's clubs. • An effort was being made at the time to revive Liberalism and the latest development to bring Lloyd George back to the leadership, with a "New Deal" policy, may do much to restore the fortunes of this once great party. From what I saw of Lloyd George I should say he still had plenty of fight in him and should go far with his consummate knowledge of political tactics. CONSERVATIVE TACTICS. Of the Conservative or National Government side of the election campaign, which was already looming ahead, I saw something while staying at the house of a leading Conservative organiser and election agent for a wide district. Local members were not infrequent visitors and politics were fully and intimately discussed. Great tributes were paid to the astute leadership of Mr. Stanley Baldwin, who was credited with getting the Government out of serious difficulties earlier in the year over the "Means Test" by the simple process of withdrawing it without fuss or endeavour to save face—a lesson in tactics to New Zealand politicians who make a point of never admitting they are in the wrong. Mr. Baldwin reads his human nature better. It was conceded by my host and the local member that the Government might very well have lost out if there had been an election at the time when the "Means Test" was like a red rag to a bull in the electorates, but the withdrawal had smoothed things over, the Jubilee had awakened some of the old English pride, and the general business improvement had put the Government on side again. It was generally thought that the Government would get back to power with the loss of a good many seats, but still with a working majorCLEVER PROPAGANDA. One never gets far away from politics in England even in holiday tim~ Tramping through the Lake District in late July, I came one evening into the town of Keswick and was amazed to hear as I approached the market square a voice which I remembered having heard some months before in the House of Commons. Surely Mr Baldwin could not be spending the weekend in the Lakes on a political campaign! It was Mr. Baldwin's voice all right and there was the figure of Mr. Baldwin himself, full-size, before me—on the screen at the rear of a van from which, with amplifiers, proceeded the voice; it was a Government Party propaganda van fitted for the open-air with talkie reproducing apparatus. Here were the National Ministry speaking their pieces in defence of their stewardship. After Mr. Baldwin came Sir John Simon and others. A large crowd listened and I should say that as propaganda it was quite effective. This talkie van with Cabinet "stars" was only one phase of the clever organisation which has looked after th? Government's interests during its term of office. Another idea was putting up a regular speaker in Hyde Park among the Sunday morning orators to uphold the case for the Government. |He was a competent man for the job and got his fair share of attention from the crowd. . LABOUR'S PROSPECTS. How will Labour get on in the election soon to take place? Quite apart from the. recent split over the policy towards Italy and Abyssinia, I should say that not even the most sanguino Labour enthusiasts in Britain will be expecting victory at this election. I saw a good deal of the party headquarters in London and had an hour with the late leader, Mr. George Lansbury, at the House of Commons, but it would not be fair at this stage to reveal' opinions frankly expressed. To fight an election, especially an elec-t