Only Internal Dissension Can Beat Labour

Northern Advocate, 10 May 1940, Page 7

Only Internal Dissension Can Beat Labour

Auckland West

—MR. ARMSTRONG

[Special 'to “Northern Advocate.”] AUCKLAND, This Day. “The Labour Party can only be defeated by internal dissension,” said •the Minister for Health and Housing (Mr Armstrong), speaking at a meeting in support of Mr P. Carr, Labour candidate for Auckland West, last night. “If people can’t pull any longer with the party, let them get out and carry on from outside, not behind the backs of their colleagues while they are inside,” he added. Mr Armstrong said that Mr Lee and Mr Barnard bad never been elected in their personal capacities, but only as pledged supporters of Labour. Lee Statement Denied. If he were in their present situation, he said, every known principle cf political decency would impel him to resign his seat, and let the electors say whether they still wanted him. The two members knew that if they did so they would not stand the ghost of a chance of being re-elected. Mr Armstrong also denied Mr Lee’s reported statement that the Cabinet had favoured a lower rate of old-age pension than that now paid, and that a group of members had persuaded the caucus to decide otherwise. Main Trouble, The fact was, he said, that caucus had never taken a vote on the subject, but had unanimously approved the present rate when it was brought forward by the Cabinet. Mr Armstrong saicl that the main trouble had been that there was not room in the Cabinet for everybody, and everybody could net be Prime Minister. A little nest of men who wanted to do the job. and thought they could do it better than anyone else, were now saying that members of the Cabinet were too old and were not monetary reformers.