The Southland Times THURSDAY, MAY 2, 1940. Need for Political Unity

Southland Times, Issue 24115, 2 May 1940, Page 6

The Southland Times THURSDAY, MAY 2, 1940. Need for Political Unity

IT WILL be surprising if any of the three new political groups whose formation has been reported from the North Island finds a welcome in the country at the present time. The Democratic Labour Party is the outcome of Mr J. A. Lee’s disagreement with the Labour Government. How wide is the cleavage in the Labour Party which Mr Lee has uncovered is not yet known; but unless he gains a great deal more support than has so far been offered he is unlikely to make much impression on the solid ranks of organized Labour. The new Liberal Party, which has nominated a candidate to contest the Auckland West seat, represents still another attempt to revive what is by now very nearly a lost cause. It has put forward a singularly naive programme and is unlikely to be taken seriously. The third body has called itself the People’s Movement and threatens to place “our whole organization and candidates into the political arena” unless the existing parties fall into line with its policy, which is broadly anti-socialist. In addition to the particular difficulties that will be encountered by each of the three groups in establishing itself, they will have to overcome the reluctance of British people to engage in political squabbles in war time. The trend at the moment should be towards political unity, not towards disunity: the country’s whole energy is needed for the prosecution of the war. Signs of Discontent

But, at the same time, the evidence of dissatisfaction which is manifesting itself in the formation of new political groups, cannot be ignored by the Government. If there is to be political unity the Government must demonstrate its willingness to put the nation before the party by intensifying the Dominion’s war effort and putting it upon a sound and equitable basis. No attempt has yet been made to define a financial policy for the war years, and the country’s finances are not in such a condition that the Government can allow them to drift anywhere the war may take them. The recruiting system remains a major cause of dissatisfaction: whatever may be said in favour of voluntary enlistment, it is not easy to defend a system under which married men up to 40 years of age and with up to two children are sent away on active service while tens of thousands of single men in their twenties remain behind. Can a nation that regards itself as an enlightened democracy organize its war effort no better than this? Nothing will bring political unity more quickly than the knowledge that the Government is not afraid to act vigorously, even though it may require sacrifices from its friends as well as from those who oppose it, that it is willing to put aside its domestic policy of socialization until after the war and that it is prepared to extend some degree of co-operation to the official Opposition. The British Labour leaders, Mr Attlee and Mr Greenwood, are frequent callers at 10 Downing Street. Though the Labour Government has been criticized by the Opposition in New Zealand far less than Mr Chamberlain’s Government has been criticized by the Labour Opposition at Home, there have been no comparable consultations here. A preliminary reallocation of portfolios was announced yesterday and soon the Cabinet is to be augmented by one or two new members. Will the new Prime Minister then give the country the determined lead for which it is waiting?