Evening star., 1945-07-29

y
The sweeping victory of the Labor
party in the British national elections
this week marks, and perhaps will sc-
centuate, a trend toward the left all
through Europe. And those in the
American Government whose business
It is to note and chart political move
ments abroad expect the pendulum to
move even further toward radicalism
before it reverses its motion.
That is not to say that Great Britain
or even such western continental coun-
tries as France, Belgium, Holland and
Italy are going Communist" The trend
noted here has no visible connection
with the rapid Communication Of East
ern Europe and the Balkans through
the direct military and political inter-
vention of Soviet Russia. The fact that
the Communist party secured only of
the $40 seats in the House of Commons
shows that the followers of Marx and
Lenin still have little appeal to the
British electorate.
Nor Is the vote to be interpreted as
a protest against Prime Minister VIM
ston Churchill and his war policies.
There is no doubt that good old VIM
ME-" as they called him down in Lon
don's East End during the dark days of
the war, will remain the grand old man
of Britain as long as he hves-the man
whose iron jaw and gutteral growl de-
fled Hitler to do his worst when Eng
land stood alone against the over
whelming might of the Axis.
Two Prominent Factors.
Rather, the tremendous Labor victory
Is explained by Washington officials who
are well acquainted with present politi-
cal trends in Britain on two grounds:
First, the vote reflected war-weariness,
a desire to forget an administration
which was closely identified with the
days of the great "blitz" and rocket
bombs and threats of invasion-an
emotional groundswell similar to that
which caused Americans in 1920 to fol-
low Warren G. Harding back tc
normally"
Secondhand in a more concrete
realm-the average British voter ap-
parently was convinced that the Labor
party, with its Socialistic program of
Matchmaking basic industries and fol-
lowing very paternalistic economic pol
icieS toward the individual offered him
more than the Conservatives. A Labor
victory, to this typical voter, represent
ed better housing, surer employment,
higher pay, more pension-if he were
a serviceman-and a broader system of
social insurance
The latter point is interesting, mas
much as the Churchill coalition govern
ment had drawn up and attempted to
sell the public an extremely broad
gauged series of postwar plans which,
even few years ago, would have been
regarded as extremely socialistic. Be-
ginning with Sir William Beveridge's
advanced plan for social insurance, first
announced in November, 1912, and later
incorporated in government White
Paper, the Churchill government had
followed through with blueprints for a
national health service to include wild
ows pensions, retirement pensions,
family allowances maternity grants and
death grants; an education plan, actu-
ally embodied in legislation in July,
l943, for a wide extension of publicly
supported schools, a postwar housing
plan and an elaborate scheme to curb
unemployment.
Little Man Skeptical
But the ''little man" in Britain ap-
parently distrusted either the good faith
or the ability of the Conservative party,
which he regards as the traditional de-
fender of big business and the landed
gentry, to carry through such social
istic program. 1t is noteworthy that the
political casualties among Conservative
party leaders and even those Labor and
Liberal members who had been part
of the Churchill government were par
ticularly heavy. Sir William Beveridge
himself was defeated. Although Mr..
Churchill and his first lieutenant, Sir
Anthony Eden, we're returned to their
seats in Commons, some 27 other mem
bers of the government felt the voters
wrath. Their reaction was family REM
iniscent of the old American slogan,
Throw the rascals out"
And there is no doubt here that this
trend against status quo" authority,
combined with a desire for social ex-
perimentation which is generally
coupled with 1eftist" trends, will con-
tinue to be marked in European elec-
tions for some time. 1t is known that
for some months the State Department
has anticipated this probability.
AS noted, Washington views the
change in the British government en-
tirely in terms of war -weariness and
domestic policy The new Prime Min
jster, Maj. Clement r. Attlee, is not ex-
pected to deviate far from the Church.
lillian pattern of conducting foreign re-
lations. The appointment of Ernest
Bevin, Minister of Labor and National
Service in the Churchill government, as
Foreign Minister, caused no surprise
here. 1t was observed that in his cam
paign speeches he devoted himself
largely to discussion of foreign policy.
No change at all is expected in
Britain's conduct of the war with Ja-
pan, which will proceed on the already
charted course toward unconditional
surrender" Nor is Maj. Attlee likely to
vary from existing policy toward Ger
many, so far as it has been determined.
The "little people" of England whom
the Labor party represents-particular-
lv those in industrial cities like Lon