Manawatu Evening Standard. SATURDAY, DEC. 6, 1930. BRITISH BY-ELECTIONS.

Manawatu Standard, Volume LI, Issue 6, 6 December 1930, Page 8

Manawatu Evening Standard. SATURDAY, DEC. 6, 1930. BRITISH BY-ELECTIONS.

Recent by-elections in tlie Motherland show a marked decline in the Labour vote compared with the figures recorded at the last general election. The East Renfrew seat the other day was retained for the Conservative Party by Lord Clydesdale, who polled over a thousand votes more than the previous holder of the seat, while the Independent Labour Party candidate, Mr T. Irwin, whom the Labour Party executive refused to endorse, polled over 7000 votes less than, his successful opponent. Mr Irwin had the ardent support of a number of the Left Wing section of the Labour Party, headed by Sir Oswald Mosley, while a prominent member, Mr James Maxton, criticising the Labour Party executive for their action, declared that it amounted to an attack on the Left Wing and its working class policy. Confidence was freely expressed by the “Leftists” that they would win the seat, so that the Conservative majority would be a bitter pill to swallow. The Whitechapel by-election, held on Wednesday, reveals another large slump in Labour stocks. The seat was won at the general election by the late Mr Harry Gosling (Labour) with a majority of over 9000 votes over his Liberal opponent, who was but little more than 1000 votes ahead of the Conservative candidate. But the 13,701 votes then polled by Mr Gosling have receded to 8544, while the Liberal vote advanced from 4521 to 7445, and the Conservative from 3478 to 3735. There is a large Jewish vote in Whitechcapel and, allowing for the fact that the Government’s policy in Palestine, which has given, mortal offence to Jews, would be partly responsible for its loss of prestige in the electorate, there is no doubt that the reaction responsible for Labour success at the last general election has been practically exhausted. The swing is' more to the Conservatives than to the remnants of the Liberal Party. The latter are not by any means an organised bodjr and this, combined with their weakened stgte, gives little hope for their success at the next election. Constituencies outside of actual Liberal strongholds realise that a vote cast for a Liberal candidate is a vote wasted. The Socialists have had their chance and have failed signally, and it is to the Conservative Party the electors are undoubtedly turning to restore Britain’s prosperity. They are the only alternative to the present Labour Government.