Evening star., 1935-11-17

) \ ~ u. Il
THE BRITISH HOUSES O
BY THE RIGHT HON. II. B. LEES
SMITH.
Former president of England's Board of
Education.
"HE first task of the aspiring
politician in England is TO be
selected as a candidate for the
House of Commons. Here he
Immediately comes up against the nrsC
difference between the United States
and England. In the United States
he would have to go through the prl-
marieS. with all their accompanlmentS
of voting, publicity and rival candl-
dates. In England he will have prl-
vate meeting with about a dozen peo-
ple with whom he will have an in
formal conversation; they will decide
whether he shall be their candidate or
not. This small group OF people are
the Executive Committee of the local
organization of his party: but as this
organization itself is very loose af-
fair. the 10 or II leaders in practice
have to make the selection.
England has nothing to correspond
with the American political machine.
The local party association meets only
once in four or five years and even
the Executive Committee practically
ceases to operate as soon as an cleo
ton is over. The reason for the diff
ference is that in England an election
generally comes only once in four or
five years, because the only elections
are for the House of Commons. We
need not elect a President. because We
have a King: and we need not elect
Senate, because We have a House Of
Lords. In the United States. where
there are elections for the House Of
Representatives the Senate, the Presi-
dent, the State LEGISLATURES. the Gov
ernors and dozens of other officers.
the machine is necessarily in action
all the time.
Contrast in Candidates.
The next great contrast is in the
type of candidate that the two systems
produce. In England the candidate in
most cases is stranger to the district,
whereas in the United States this
would be inconceivable. In England
there is no locality rule" for Members
of Parliament. In the United States
candidates for Congress must be resi-
dents of the areas that they represent.
but in England a candidate may put
up for any constituency in the country
regardless of where he himself resides
Mr.. Winston Churchill, for instance.
has been the candidate or Member IF
Parliament for the cotton town of
Oldham, for the commercial town of
Manchester, for the jute manufactur-
ing town of Dundee, for the hosiery
town of Leicester. for the aristocratic
area of Westminster and the farming
area of Surrey-while he himself has
never lived in any of them.
The English M. P. probably never
sees his constituency six months be-
fore he becomes its representative He
stays in it only for about three weeks
a year. He answers about 20 letters
a week from his constituents and he
may get job for one of them about
once in five years.
No class shows a greater desire to
become candidates for the House of
Commons than the younger members
of the ariStocracy. More than a hun
dred of its present members come
from Eton College. A brilliant young
man in England who has carried off
the prizes at Oxford and Cambridge
takes it for granted that he will be-
come a candidate for Parliament.
Life of Politician Attractive.
The explanation is that the life of
a politician is very attractive. A men,
Der of Parliament is surrounded by a
glamour that no other occupation en-
joys. The House of Commons is still
the best club in London" To be in
vited to "tea on the terrace" of the
House is still privilege. The young
M. P. finds that at fashionable dinner
parties he alone is permitted to appear
without evening dress. because of the
fiction that he is too busy with his
Parliamentary duties to have time to
change.
At the other end of the scale of
candidates are the working men. The
last House of Commons contained
more than 80 coal miners and many
steel workers, railway men, brick
layers and carpenters. Some men,
bers of the House had been receiving
"the dole" up to the day that they
were elected, and passed from the un-
employment queue to Parliament
without creating any public surprise.
Some of these working men became
ministers of the crown, lost their seats
at the last election and quietly re-
turned to their former jobs. Men who
three years ago held court positions
and appeared in elaborate uniforms
at Buckingham Palace are now back
as engine drivers and carpenters with
out any particular comment being
made.
The actual election is spread over
about three weeks. The candidate
makes about three speeches each night
in the halls of the local schools. The
meetings are in most places very quiet.
with no interruptions, but with very
active heckling at the end. AS the
heckling will be concentrated on ma
tional and international politics, the.
candidate who is merely versed in local
politics will soon be discredited.
Art in Answering Hecklers.
This is one of the reasons that the
best candidates usually come from
outside the constituency. The art OF
answering hecklers demands a sense.
Of humor and a good temper. The
slightest evidence of irritability may do
&reparable damage, for singlSsdis-