GREY SHADOWS OVER BRITAIN: POINTERS TO CRISIS

Evening Star, Issue 26153, 15 July 1947, Page 5

GREY SHADOWS OVER BRITAIN: POINTERS TO CRISIS

(From A. W. Mitchell, N.Z.P.A. Special Correspondent.) i(Rec. 10 a.m.) v : LONDON, July, 14. These are grey days in Britain. Nobody is cheerful .about the economic position, and though every-day life for the average man and woman proceeds with outward normality, responsible opinion is that the general trend'of events points to a crisis, both political and economic, some time next year. There is a feeling, indeed, that Britain is experiencing a period of “phoney peace” in exactly the same way as it passed through the phase of the “phoney war,” between Germany's over-running of Poland and her attack on Franee. Just as the people then had the feeling that perhaps something might occur to stave off a total world war, so now there is a tendency to hope that something will turn up to stave 'off an economic crisis.

This feeling has not been lessened by Mr Herbert Morrison’s speech last week—a speech incidentally which was received more dourly and has been more freely criticised than any other Ministerial statement in recent times. Mr Morrison' indicated quite plainly that Britain had no plan for solving her economic difficulties other than reliance on some form of peace lime lend-lease. He admitted that further drastic cute in imports had not been made in case it might not be necessary after all—an attitude which has_ been frankly condemned as, Micawberish. There is growing criticism that the Labour Government is too fearful of taking drastic actions that will affect its popularity, and

is injecting the nation with too many soporific doses of Socialism instead of educating it with the full facts of economic life. There 3 is a feeling .that its' exhortations for more production and its “ Work or Want ” campaign have tailed, chiefly because they have been over-ridden by the belief carefully nurtured by the Government that socialisation and nationalisation are the basic cure for national ills. There lias been too much emphasis on the kind of policy which declares that the “ Government will do the planning while the people work harder for Socialism.’’ Nearly half the nation distrusts Government planning, and does not want to work for Socialism.