The Wanganui Chronicle " MONDAY. JUNE 15, 1931. BRITISH POLITICAL DELEMMAS.

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 74, Issue 139, 15 June 1931, Page 6

The Wanganui Chronicle " MONDAY. JUNE 15, 1931. BRITISH POLITICAL DELEMMAS.

■: decision of the Liberal Party to move an amendment to the Government’s Land Taxation proposals is being regarded with apprehension in London. The amendment, if as reported it involves a reduction of £5,000,000 in Land Tax revenue, will be as unacceptable to Mr Ramsay MacDonald as it will be welcome to Mr Baldwin. Mr MacDonald, therefore, threatens the House with a dissolution if the amendment is carried and Mr Baldwin rubs his hands with glee at the prospects opening up before him. Mr Lloyd George knows first that Mr MacDonald does not want a dissolution, and second, that Mr Baldwin does. He also knows that the Conservative Party has a fair prospect of gaining control of the situation if an election does take place immediately. At the same time Mr MacDonald is quite aware that Mr Lloyd George himself does not want an election just now, least of all an election brought about by Liberal obstruction to the land taxes. Such a situation is intensely interesting, for each leader knows the cards held by the others. They arc like poker players sitting each with his back to a mirror.

Mr Ramsay MacDonald has been able to rely upon the main body of Liberal Parliamentarians and doubtless believes that he can continue to do so. He is, therefore, contriving to implement as far as possible his policy so to place his party in good case for an appeal to the electors. Mr Lloyd George is quite aware that included in that programme is an amendment to the Trades Union Act of 1927, whereby trades unionists, instead of contracting out of paying the political levy, now have to “contract in” to that obligation. This manoeuvre of the Conservative Party was not done with the object of protecting the worker from being compelled to pay a levy in support of a political party of which he did not approve—although the step was validly justified on that ground—but to deprive the Labour Party of political funds. Mr MacDonald wants those funds. Before he comes to that measure Mr Lloyd George wants his quid pro quo in the form of proportional representation. The Liberal Party in England is wholly inadequately represented in Parliament. The average of votes cast at the last election for each member returned by the three parties was as follows: Labour, 29,137; Conservative, 33,324; Liberal, 89.846. Mr Lloyd George rightly desires that this condition shall not exist at the next general election and he is, doubtless, seeking to force his demands upon Mr MacDonald in the present critical budget debate.

Mr Baldwin will naturally oppose the introduction of proportional representation because it would ill suit his party. To support Mr Lloyd George would be his best policy for it would confound both his enemies, but such support would quite likely hasten the introduction of a measure initiating proportional representation in English .constituencies, which would diminish the present advantage of the Conservative Party. Each party leader in the House of Commons to-day is, therefore, caught up on the horns of a dilemma. The action and inter-action of each upon the other will be very interesting to watch.