SOCIALISTS WIN FIRST BATTLE— Ruthless Muster Of Party Voting Strength

Greymouth Evening Star, 11 March 1950, Page 6

SOCIALISTS WIN FIRST BATTLE— Ruthless Muster Of Party Voting Strength

LONDON, March 10.—Labour mustered its majority on the issue of confidence in the House of Commons after ruthless efforts by the party Whips to line up every available man for the test. A Labour member, Mr T. F. Hubbard, who is a diabetic, was driven from hospital to vote, and a Conservative, Lord John Hope, left his sick bed with a temperature after a three-line Whip order: “Vote even if you need an ambulance.” The Whips demanded attendance by every man, even those with doctors’ certificates, unless it put their lives in danger. The final vote in Labour’s favour was 310 to 296, although all nine Liberals voted with the Conservatives.

The issue was whether or not steel nationalisation, already on the Statute Book, should be put into effect before another General Election was held. Labour’s victory is only the first round in the fight. Mr Churchill will follow up his initial onslaught with two more on March 13 and 14, one on housing and another on Government expenditure. Labour members said afterwards that the great significance of the Government’s “steel victory” was it showed that the Conservatives could be held on all crucial issues. They are confident that the 14 majority win scored by Labour over the combined Conservatives and Liberals can be repeated, with good party organisation, ,to meet each future crisis. If defeated the eight-day-old Government would have resigned. Labour jubilation about victory in the first round of the battle was slightly dampened, however, by the news that their overall majority was down to six, because the Conserva-

tive Party won the last undecided seat in the General Election at Moss Side. Labour knows that it faces further tests of its slender majority next week.

The Daily Express says: “All the party whips gave an indication last night how ruthless they will be in divisions. Every exit from the House was watched. The whips turned away any of their members trying to get out. No one was allowed to attend evening engagements or dinners.”