GREAT POLITICAL BATTLE

Taranaki Daily News, 11 May 1929, Page 13

GREAT POLITICAL BATTLE

BRITISH GENERAL ELECTION

‘LIBERALS A LIVELY CORPSE’

'CONTEST BEGUN IN EARNEST

By Telegraph—Press Assn.—Copyright. Australian Press Association. Received May 10, 9.15 p.m. London, May HL

With Parliament prorogued the election campaign begins in earnest throughout the country. . The House could no longer be held together as members for the past month have been stealing away to their constituencies. Increasing numbers have been making speeches and keying up their local organisations.

The Ministers have 'been more or less tied to the House and Whitehall, but the Opposition leaders and many smaller fry have long since vanished into the wilderness..

Those who remained separated goodhumouredly and banterirtgly,. one saying to another, “Well, I suppose I filian’t see you again,” and others offering to insure their rivals against the loss of their deposits. A lobbyist recalls of the late Sir Wilfred Lawson, the. witty teetotaller: “It is far easier to go to the country than to come back again.” Conservative members of the House realise they are faced with the stiffest election battle of modern times in which many a 'doughty champion must bite the dust. .The Liberal unemployment scheme still holds the field as the chief topic of discussion. If the Liberal Party is dead it is a.pretty lively corpse; There are now Liberal candidates for 498 seats, twenty-three more than a week ago. The total candidates number 1657. VOTING DAY FIXED FOR MAY 30. MANY WOMEN CANDIDATES. Nomination day has been fixed for May 20 and ] oiling day for May 30. The following table shows. the state of parties after the election of 1924 and the number of prospective candidates for the coming election: —

There are 64 women candidates compared with 41 at the last election. Those aro divided as follow:—Conservatives, eight; I erals,. 25; Labour,' 28; Communists, two; Independents, one. Even this increased. total is small’ in view of the fact tha' women voters are predominant in the electorate, which now Includes half the people in je. nation. Less than a century ago scarcely a 15th part of the people of the nation voted. Of the women vote s there are many thousands of young wemen of Britain’s middle class and 'better class homes who live in an atmospl re quite remote from Socialism. There is no fear that they will be inveigled into Labour’s battalions, but admittedly a hide unknown factor h j been thrown into the scales. The chief puzzle will be the political leanings of the thousands of women and ![irl 'workers who live alone in lodgings n the big cities, detached from home influence or any erganisation. After the general election of 1924 the «tate of the parties was:— Conservatives .. 415 Labour 151 Liberals 44 Independents * •• 5 This gave the Conservatives a clear majority of 215 over all other parties in the House. A certain. number of members were returned as Constitutionalists, but for convenience they have been classified according to the political party, from ‘which they received a whip. Beckoning the two seats rendered, vacant by the deaths of Mr. Stephen Walsh and Mr. Frdnk Varley as Labour, the present position of the parties, is:—■ Conservatives . 400 Labour-'.’.'.;'. .". ...... 162 .Liberals 1 . .s'.'?. .. 46 Independents; .......'...... ■,? 7 . ... . Thus after Ugarly five years di office the Conservative majority over all the other parties combined stands at. 195, compared with 215 at the opening of the Parliament. There have been 63 by-elections since the general election of 1924 and in. only two instances was there an unopposed return. In the 61 contested elections the following votes were cast: —i 53' Conservative candidates 630,680 56 Labour candidates .... 567,914 59 Liberal candidates .... 447,834 1 Communist candidate .. 2,618 6 Independent candidates 10,698

1924 Poll. ' 1929 Candidates. Conservatives .,.. . 41.3 584 Liberals 40, 498 Labour . is r 575 Constitutionalists € — Independents ..;. B Totals ...; 615 .1657