The Evening Star TUESDAY, JANUARY 11, 1944. BRITISH POLITICS.

Evening Star, Issue 25070, 11 January 1944, Page 2

The Evening Star TUESDAY, JANUARY 11, 1944. BRITISH POLITICS.

Thk success, for the second time, of a new Common Wealth Party in the byelection for Skipton confirms a prognostication that has been expressed for some time as to the probable early future of British politics. It is that Conservatives must look forward to a reduction of their parliamentary strength. ' Nothing else could be expected, because, with the exception of two short Labour Governments, the Conservatives before the war had been in office for eighteen years, their party predominates in the present National Government, and in the present House of Commons they hold more than twice the number of seats of any other single party. The figures are as follows: — Conservatives 361 seats,. Liberals 47, Labour 177, others 27. The normal law of the swing of, the pendulum could be expected to redress, or at least to modify, that preponderance, and the law is usually quickened after a war.

No Labour candidate could contest the Skipton seat, made vacant by a Conservative, because that would have been against the party truce. It has been a question, however, whether when the war ends, Labour "will make haste to break loose from the combination arrived at for the waging of the war and contest the next General Elections as a separate party. With that possibility in view and the war, or the worst part of it. drawing nearer to a conclusion, political pundits have been at much trouble to deduce what might be the prospects. According to an unbiassed, because American, observer, writing for the 'Christiau Science Monitor,' they were not showing so' well for Labour a few weeks before Christmas as they had done some months earlier. The current had been flowing strongly Leftward, but the pace of that tendency had distinctly slowed down. Labour scrutineers were convinced that, if elections were held on the old party lines, Labour would take many seats from the Conservatives, but not so many but that they would still ibe left with a comfortable working majority. And they were less disappointed by that conclusion because no party can feel very anxious to take office in the period immediately following a war, which is bound to be one of no small difficulties. Mr Churchill'has invited the parties, when the time comes, to go to the countrv on a National Government basis, aiidi Mr Morrison, one of the Labour leaders, has said recently that, although no doubt party politics would return sooner or later, he hoped that a spirit of unitv would animate the Legislature in dealing witli the opening pbases of tbe reconstruction programme. Discontents with the restrictions, regulations, and controls that are an .inevitable accompaniment of war tune have worked against the Government; •and Leftist voters, like those who have supported the new Common Wealth Party, would have wished something more 'of. its time to be given to the " brave new world " meant to follow it. The Government's cautious approach to tbe Beveridgc scheme lias not strengthened its popularity. But tbe war is not over vet. and. while it.continues, the policy that puts war needs first will have its appeal for most voters.