BRITISH ELECTIONS

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 72, Issue 106, 6 May 1929, Page 7

BRITISH ELECTIONS

A PUZZLING CONTEST EFFECT OF WOMEN’S VOTES With polling day for the British elections scheduled for May 30, all parties are.. manoeuvring for positions. There is sufficient evidence, however, to show that the c< test will be one of the fiercest and most complicated in Brit ish political history. [ Australian Press Assn. ] Received May 5, 10 p.m. LONDON, May 4. The state of the parties after the general election uf 1924 was:— Conservatives 413 Liberals 40 Labour 151 Constitutionalists 6 Independents 5 Total ..._ ..._ 615 Candidates for the next Parliament are:—Conservatives 584, Liberals 475, Labour 575. Total for 615 seats, 1634. Nomination day is May 20 and polling day May 30. While the election campaign has not yet fully developed, there is sufficient evidence to show that it will e one of the fiercest and most complicated and puzzling in British political history. All the parties are at present manoeuvring for positions, and tue issue is not yet clearly defined. But platform and press campaigns alike are already being conducted in the strongest language'. The first official lists of candidates are not expected before next week-end. The Labour Party has already endorsed 55 candidates, and in all probability will endorse a further 20. This is easily a Labour rjecord. There are at present 64 women candidates, compared with 41 last election. These are divided as follows: Conservatives 8, Liberals 2- Labour 28, Communists 2, Independent 1. Even this increased .total is small in view of the fact that women voters are predominant. Less than a century ago, scarcely a fiftieth part of the nation voted.

Of these women voters, there are many thousands of young women of Britain’s middle class and better class homes, who live in an atmosphere quite remote from Socialism, a 1 there is no fear that they will be inveigled into Labour’s battalions. But, admittedly, a huge unknown factor has been thrown into the scales; thjo chief puzzle will be the political leanings of thousands of women and girl workers living alone in lodgings in the big cities, detached from home influence or anv organisation.

PARLIAMENTARY HONOURS EIGHTY WOMEN CANDIDATES [ British Official Wireless. ) RUGBY, May S. It is anticipated that about eighty women will be nominated as candidates for the general election, which takes place on May 30. This number compares with forty-one at the last election.