THE MAN WHO SAID “NO”

Timaru Herald, Volume CLI, Issue 22185, 31 January 1942, Page 4

THE MAN WHO SAID “NO”

WHEN the question of confidence in the Government was put to the House of Commons one man walked into the “No” lobby. He .was. Mr James Maxton, leader and sole member of the Independent Labour Party. Nobody will resent this sturdy manifestation of independent judgment, for “Jimmy” Maxton has been for years one of the most popular members of the House of Commons. The sincerity of his views is universally accepted and the actions dictated by those views are also accepted. Mr Maxton has represented the Bridgetown Division of Glasgow since 1922. For more than 20 years he has been the valiant heart of the Independent ‘Labour Party in the West of Scotland and a leading spirit among the political “wild men” of Glasgow. He was a conscientious objector during the war of 1914-18 and was at one stage imprisoned for sedition. He is a graduate of Glasgow University and for a time earned a living as a schoolmaster. When he entered the House of Commons it did not take him long to acquire a reputation. He was aided in this by his picturesque personality and remarkable eloquence. One Dominion observer in the House of Commons has described Mr Maxton in these words: “He is vivjfily unique. That lean ascetic face, those piercing eyes, and the long black hair now streaked with grey, contribute to his uniqueness. His eyebrows, black and bushy, are more than eyebrows for him. While he is talking he performs little aerobatics with them, which give him an expression of lowering ferocity. If he had enemies they would say he looked sinister, but

since he has none, it may be said that he looks theatrical. How beautifully melancholy he would be on the stage!” Politically, Mr Maxton and Mr Churchill have never been friends. He once said of a speech Mr Churchill gave in the House: “Not only did he have bad cards, but he played them appallingly.” The fact that Mr Churchill has made the greatest speech of his career would not have impressed Mr Maxton. He carried his disapproval to its constitutional limit and the Prime Minister will not think any the worse of him for that.