ELECTION IN BRITAIN

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 70, Issue 103, 14 February 1950, Page 3

ELECTION IN BRITAIN

NOMINATIONS CLOSED MANY CANDIDATES IN FIELD (N.Z.P. A.—Copyright) (Rec. 10.40 a.m.) LONDON, Feb. 13. Nominations for Britain’s General Election on February 23 close this afternoon, and more than 1800 candidates will probably contest 625 seats ini the House of Commons. Both the Labour Party and the Conservative Party aim at contesting all seats except Mr Speaker’s, and the Liberals will .probably have between 450 and 500 candidates.

Hopes that Mr Speaker would be returned without opposition were dashed to-day when Mr Alexander Hancock, a farmer,' was nominated as an Independent Liberal. Mr Hancock opposed Mr Churchill in 1945. Of Ministers already nominated, at least two will be engaged in fiVe-cor-nered contests. They are the Foreign Secretary, Mr Ernest Bevin, and the Labour Minister, Mr Alfred Barnes. Mr Churchill will have three opposing him. Meanwhile all parties continue their electioneering and forecasts of success. Mr Morgan Phillips, secretary of the Labour Party, told 60 Commonwealth and foreign correspondents today: “Labour will win the -election.” Mr Phillips would not predict the majority he expected, but said it would be sufficient for Labour to implement its policy, adding: “Even a 10 or 15 majority will be enough for that.”

Quiet and Thoughtful Mr Phillips said he had found on a 500-miles’ tour that people were “quiet , and thoughtful but not apathetic.” Mr Phillips said broadly the issues were full employment, housing, the cost of living and social services. The issue was between Labour and the Conservatives. ’ The Communists would not, win a seat. He did not think they need spend much time- oil what the Liberals would do. On the first stage of his Scottish tour, Mr Attlee, speaking at Greenock to-day, said: “I am not going to promise a bit more petrol or tobacco. We shall carry on trying to do our best for everybody, and we shall put first things first —and 'the children come first with us.” Mr Attlee said that the Tory suggestions of a return to competitive buying as a means of obtaining more and cheaper food were based on “obsolete economics.” Tory philosophy saw profit-making as the- economic purpose. Labour had cut out profit-making opportunities, and also many unnecessary overheads. With Mrs Attlee driving the family car. the Prime Minister lias completed 400 miles of his tour, and has spoken at 19 meetings. He finishes his tour in Hertfordshire, on February 16.

Returned Unopposed , The Ulster Unionist, Sir Hugh O’Neill, was the first candidate to be returned unopposed as a member of the new British Parliament. He represents Antrim North, in Northern Ireland. Another Ulster Unionist, Major J. R. E. Harden, has now also been returned unopposed for Armagh, Northern Ireland. Four members of the Churchill family will fight as Conservatives in the. General Election. Mr. Winston Churchill’s son, Randolph, and two sons-in-law, Duncan Sandys and Chris, topher Soames, were nominated to-day. The Service vote will total only 13.9,501, an average of 250 for each electorate. The Services vote in the 1945 election totalled nearly 3,000,000. There are about 500,000 under 21 years in the services to-day, most of them national service recruits. The Labour Party claimed in 1945 that it received fairly solid support from the armed forces.