Evening star., 1950-02-26
The Outlook in Britain


The one thing that may be said with certainty
about the British election results is that they
have left the United Kngdonl-for the first time
in its modern history-on a seriously unstable
footing. At any moment, after the new Parlia
ment convenes, Prime Minister Attlee and his
Labor government may fall Indeed, in mood
OF unhappiness and dismay, even among the
Conservatives, Britons are freely predicting that
within the next two months or so the country
may have to go to the polls again in an effort
to give one or the other of the major parties
big-enough majority to govern.
For it is obvious that the Laborites, with
their former great strength cut down to victory
margin so slim as to amount to virtual vote of
no confidence, will henceforth find it difficult in
the extreme to speak and act with real authority
on either domestic or foreign matters. Under the
British parliamentary system, governing party,
If it is not to be short-lived must have a mini
mum of at least 80 seats more than the combined
opposition. But when the final count is in,
Labors edge probably will be less than half that
number-a total, all told in the neighborhood
of 314 as against upward of 294 for Winston
Churchill's Conservatives and 10 for the now
insignificant Liberals and independents.
To appreciate the precariousneSs of the
Laborite position we have only to keep in mind
that members of the cabinet and lesser admin
istrative officials in the Attlee regime hold
numerous seats in the House of Commons.
Accordingly, if they are not present when some
crucial issue comes up for vote, if they are off
somewhere else carrying out their non-paria-
mentary duties (such as attending international
conferences abroad, it will be easy for the Con-
servatives, acting either alone or in concert with
the Liberals, to defeat the Labor government and
fhy1c Ira o1A
This fact coupled with the fact that the Labortes
have been returned to Office with about 100000
fewer popular votes than the total cast for the
opposition, speaks for itself as measure of
Britains present political unsteadiness.
Up to a point Mr.. Churchill and his party
have reason to be pleased by all this In effect,
their comebaek-like that of the Conservatives
in New Zealand and Acknowledgements a
swing rightward in Britain and suggests that the
day may not be distant when they will be restored
to full governing power. Yet they are not really
happy about the situation, nor do they welcome
the possibility of Labor's early downfall. The
reason for this is that the voters of the coun-
try-who went to the polls in unprecedentedly
large numbers on Thursday-are themselves so
closely divided that another general election in
the near future probably would not settle matters
In other words, even If the Conservatives won in
such an election, the chances are that they, too,
would have very shaky majority and that the
United Kingdom thus would still face the problem
of governmental instability.
In these circumstances, it does not seem
unlikely that both the Laborites and the Con-
servativeS will strive in the weeks Immediately
ahead to avoid issues that could precipitate the
fall of the Attlee government Sobeted by its
great setback, the latter may decide to shelve
new naturalization projects and other steps
toward fuller socialism, and Mr. Churchilps party
may bend over backward to defer parliamentary
attacks of sort that would force the calling of
general election. Even so, although such truce
may work for while on the domestic front and
in the field of foreign policy (Which is hasically
non-partisan), the chances seen, weighted on the
side of an early test at the polls.
What needs to be emphasized, however, is
that such test when it comes may prove to
be quite as indecisve as last Thursdays In that
case, Of course, Britain will still have govern
ment too weak and uncertain to make the grave
domestic and foreign decisions that must be
made in these critical days. In spite of them
selves therefore, the Laborites and the Conserva-
tives may yet be forced to form coalition. In
any event. the situation confronting them is
decidedly serious, and as far as Americans are
concerned, its meaning runs much deeper than
the fact that some Republicans profess to see
it as happy sign that the Democrats will lose
the elections next November.