LIVELY INTERVAL

New Zealand Herald, Volume 82, Issue 25210, 24 May 1945, Page 5

LIVELY INTERVAL

POLITICAL EXCHANGES PROSPECT AFTER POLL-ING NEW COALITION POSSIBLE (Special Correspondent) LONDON, May 22 It now seems certain that the general election in Britain will be held early in July and that the country is in for a short, sharp period of lively political party exchanges, followed quite possibly, it is thought, by another Coalition Government. It was expected that the Labour Party's Whitsuntide conference would give a pointer to the date of the approximate break-up of the present coalition and of the general election at a time which would suit the Labour Party, but Mr Churchill, with what is acknowledged as a shrewd political stroke, has upset this applecart by deciding on a July poll or a continuation of the coalition to the end of the Japanese war. By doing this he has aroused the ire of the Labour Party. Two Main Opponents Both Labour and Conservatives are indulging in a slanging match as befits the two main opponents—for in spite of the Liberal parties' efforts to stage a comeback they will enter the election with something like 200 or 300 fewer candidates than the Conservatives and Labour. .Mr Churchill is accused of allowing himself to be exploited and of suggesting Hitler's practices in the field of referenda and plebiscites, while Labour is being charged with precipitating the present crisis. These are, of course, electioneering points made in the desire to get in early blows. But examining objectively this question of when the election should be held, it is obvious that it is a vei'v difficult thing to decide, and it is known that Mr Churchill has been brooding over it for some time. Britain's present Parliament is ten years old and the Coalition Government is five years old. For over a year now it has been reiterated that it is time that an election should be held to renew and reinvigorate Parliament, and all the parties agreed that it should be fought on a party basis, with Labour and Liberals being the most vociferously in favour of breaking up the coalition. One result has been much indecision in the taking of a firm line by the Government regarding domestic policy. Immediate Grave Problems Now, with the war against Germany ended, Europe is anything but peaceful, and Mr Eden has underlined the gravity of the international situation. A meeting; of the Big Three is urgently desirable and, in addition to the war against Japan there is the peace conference to be attended to sooner or later. With all the gravity of this immediate post-war position before him, and also the necessity of holding a general election, Mr Churchill's position as leader of the country is in no way enviable. It could be no comfort tp him in directing domestic or international policies to know that this uneasy shadow is hovering over every decision he makes. Thus, he says, it would give him "great relief" if the general election were postponed until the end of the Japanese war. It would clear his mind of many additional worries. Failing that he prefers a quick decision and this, from his point of view, is quite understandable. Viewpoints of Parties If Mr Churchill has allowed party motives to influence that decision to a certain extent, he is doing no more than the leaders of the other parties would do if they were in his position. And so the political fireworks have started—inevitably, one might say. The Labour Party, from its point of view, is against prolongation of the coalition, appreciating that indecision on domestic matters is bad for the country and fearing that by the end of the Japanese war the '"Tory" influence, with its associate Big Business, will have re-entrenched itself strongly. And. quite humanly, it desired to leave the coalition in its own good time and to suit its own convenience.

It is felt that probably one of the Labour Party's strongest arguments against Mr Churchill's decision for a July election is that the present register of electors is defective and that it would be newer and more efficient by the autumn. Against this must be weighed the desirability of Britain's being led in the grave days ahead by a Government that has not to face a general election in a few months' time. Mr Churchill is in the position of having to make a very difficult decision. 1300 Candidates Endorsed How the election will go is no more easy to say than it is to guess who will win New Zealand's next election. But there is a wide feeling that Labour will make gains, perhaps considerable gains, and there is some support for the view expressed by the Times that, while the immediate post-war emergency lasts, it is possible that the outcome of the election will be another coalition. So far 1357 candidates have been endorsed and 300 more are to be selected. At the moment the Conservatives have put forwrd 528 candidates, Labour 468, Liberals 199, Independents 60, LiberalNationals 35. Common Wealth 28, Communists 22 and the Independent Labour Party 17. So far 275 servicemen have been selected, but it is thought that this number may jump as a result of recent bvelecfion pointers. The average age of the candidates standing is 55.6 years, the high figure being accounted for by the old men in Parliament who are standing again. There are six aged 78. The average ago of the now candidates is just over 40. The total of the women candidates so far is 60.