CHURCHILL MINISTRY RESIGNS

Southland Times, Issue 25680, 24 May 1945, Page 5

CHURCHILL MINISTRY RESIGNS

COALITION. GOVERNMENT TO DISSOLVE ' ELECTION EXPECTED ON JULY 5 (United Press Association—Telegraph Copyright) (Rec. 11.30 p.m.) LONDON, May 23. The Prime Minister, Mr Churchill, has handed his resignation to the King, and it is expected that an announcement of the dissolution of Parliament will be made soon. Mr Churchill went from 10 Downing Street to Buckingham Palace this morning. There has been no official announcement about the date of the election, but political correspondents believe that it is almost certain to be July 5. Mr Churchill became Prime Minister and formed the Coalition Government, which has guided Britain through five of the most terrible years in her history, on May 10, 1940, the day that Hitler launched his attack against France and the Low Countries. An earlier message stated that Mr Churchill, in a letter to Mr C. K. Attlee, the deputy Prime Minister and the leader of the Labour Party, made the following state- • mcnt:—“l am sorry to receive your letter of May 21 in which you reject my proposal that we should work together until the defeat of Japan is achieved. In this letter you tell me our only course is to prolong the present coalition until a general election in October. This would mean that from now until October, outside the Government and even within it, we should be continually preparing for an election. “We have already suffered several months of this electioneering atmosphere, which I am sure is already affecting our administrative efficiency and might soon weaken the country and the world at a time when, above all others, they should be stronger. I agree that it is one of the problems of the economic life of the country that party differences are most acute. What is required, you say, is decisive action. This can only be forthcoming from a Government united on principle and policy. “I agree also with your statement: ‘My colleagues and I do not believe it would be possible to lay aside political controversy now that the expectation of an election has engaged the attention of the country.’ For my part, I am sure that a continuance of this uncertainty and agitation would be harmful to the whole process of the recovery of our trade and change-over in industry. It is not good for any country—it is impossible for any coalition—to live for so long a time under the spell of an approaching general election. Least of all is this possible in a world where events are as tumultuous and dangerous as now.

“Opinions are much divided as to how the party advantage may lie between a June and October election, and I regret the aspersions with which you have darkened this correspondence. I have concerned myself solely with trying to create tolerable conditions under which we could work together. “It is clear from the tone of your letter and the feelings of your party that these no longer exist, and it is odd that you should accompany so many unjust allegations with an earnest request that we should go on bickering together until the autumn. “Such a process would not be a decent way of carrying on a British Government. I regret that you should speak of ‘rushing’ an election. Foreseeing what might arise at the close of the German war, we discussed, as you wiH remember, the whole question of procedure in detail in the War Cabinet. The normal period between a dissolution and a poll is 17 days, and it was

y, and your colleagues who proposed th there should be at least three weeks’ additional interval in view of the special circumstances prevailing. We gladly accepted this reasonable request and the unanimous decision of the Cabinet was made known by you on January 17 when you announced to the House of Commons that the King had been graciously willing for this occasion to announce his intention to dissolve Parliament at least three weeks beforehand.” OBJECTION REAFFIRMED “Mr Churchill’s reply to Mr Attlee may be assumed to end the correspondence between the two party leaders on the date of the general election,” says the Parliamentary correspondent of The Times. “The Prime Minister has reaffirmed his objection to an autumn election and it is expected that he is now seeking to advise a very early dissolution.

“Meanwhile, the Labour leaders await a decisive move from Mr Churchill. When it is made they will withdraw from the coalition and Mr Churchill will call for the resignations of all other members of the Government in order that he may form a new one. Mr Churchill will have to consider within the next few days the candidates for the interim Government. He will have 10 senior posts to fill, including the secretaryship of state for Scotland, and 20 junior offices. It is possible that some of the latter will remain unfilled.”

“Despite all Mr Churchill’s appeals to the Labour Ministers and the protestations that he desires the present Government to continue, it is becoming more evident that the Tory organization last week was warned of the date,” says the political correspondent of The Daily Telegraph. “Labour agents who in the last few days have tried to book halls for July 4, which they expected to be the eve of the poll, found that their Tory rivals haci done so last weekend.” The Daily Herald in an editorial says: “Mr Churchill has stated that he was moved most of all by the need for giving servicemen and women a fair chance of participating in deciding the future of their country. An autumn election would .give service personnel that fair chance, whereas a July contest would not, and would also deprive a number of civilian electors of their vote because the election register is incomplete.”