EVE OF POLL

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 70, Issue 111, 23 February 1950, Page 5

EVE OF POLL

FINAL SPEECHES

AIR HEAVY WITH > FORECASTS

. (N.Z.P.A.—Copyright) LONDON, Feb. 22. “The eve of the poll in the British General Election finds the air heavy with election forecasts, and since most predictions are being examined with prudent scepticism, the Air Ministry’s weather forecast for polling day must be considered with the rest,” says the Parliamentary correspondent of ‘The Times.”'

‘‘The forecast is that the weather will be rather cold and cloudy, with occasional morning rain in many parts of the country. It will come as a relief to all political parties that the prediction for a polling day late in February' is so mild.' “A February election was always recognised to involve a gamble with the weather,, and some of the Government’s own supporters -were very nervous on this ground about the date selected.” All the party leaders were heavily engaged yesterday. At a press conference in London, the Lord President of the Council (Mr Herbert Morrison) repeated his confident assertions on the “look, feel, and smell” of Labour’s prospects. He said he expected Labour gains in the rural areas, and looked forward to “the r.ot far distant future” when the agricultural worker would be as solidly ior Labour as the miner. Equal confidence in the result of the election animates the Conservative Party’s headquarters. The Conservatives have claimed that the favourable trend shown by the first partial canvass of the electorate has been confirmed by the more complete estimates now available. “Many Falsehoods” In an election speech last night in his constituency of Woodford, Essex, ■Mr Churchill claimed that although the present election campaign had been one of the most orderly he had ever seen, it had also been one in which the Socialist Party had spread, more falsehoods than he could ever recollect.

Mr Churchill said: ; “l look forward to Thursday, when, with a gesture of intense wrath, indignation, and contempt, the British nation will spit socialist trash and jargon out of their mouths for ever.’.’

Accusing the Labour Government of wasting Marshall aid, Mr Churchill said: “The greatest service England could render to the civilised world would be to stand erect on -her feet, free and independent.”

Mr Churchill accused Mr Attlee’s Administration of preventing Britain from attaining a solid position of solvency 1 and independence, which should havAbeen possible with' American'aid “the unparalleled sacrifices of the tax payers.” -

Mr Roy Harrod, an Oxford economist, speaking at Gayivood, King’s Lynn, in support of Hie Conservative candidate for the seat, said that the main things required to restore business prospects in Britain, and thus check the flight of capital and prevent insolvency, were simple.. They were as follows:

(1) The nationalisation programme must be terminated. “At this moment,” said Mr Harrod, “touts are travelling in America seeking to capture business from British firms on the argument that British insurance is to be nationalised —an argument decisive for American clients.

(2) Taxation must be reduced, “It is not a question of enlarging the present expenditure of shareholders,'’ said Mr Harrod. “A man will not start a new ehterprise ’f he .-knows that ha cannot enlarge, If successful, except by. raising money from banks or the Stock Exchange.”

(3) The central control of ihe allocation of materials must cease. “It is not only a question of the appalling inefficiency of the system,” Mr Harrod added. “It frightens away new business.” Finai Press Conference At his final press conference yesterday with British, Empire, and foreign journalists, Mr Morrison said of the Labour Party’s prospects at the polls to-morrow: “All the country Is our way. It looks good, it feels good, and it smells good.”

Mr Morrison continued: “The situation as we see it is much' the same as last week. We have had easily the best of the argument between the political leaders on the platform, on the radio and in the printed word. The electorate is genuinely trying to come to the conclusion as to what the duiy of voters is to the country at this juncture.” Mr Morrison defined the election issue as “a choice, between a country orderly and sensibly planned, with economic controls up to the point that is necessary to see that we come through our economic difficulties and troubles in an orderly and positive way, or a country not so planned.” Mr Morrison said: “Our appeal is to the . whole nation —a broad, national appeal. It is right and proper that all the useful people in society should 1 vote Labour.” Mr Morrison did not indicate those whom he thought were not “useful”: but those whom he expected to vote for his party were, he suggested, manual workers, including trade unionists; Co-operative Movement; those working class people who had not voted Labour before, but who had “now seen the advantages of Labour in full employment, the high standard of living, social services and so on”; housewives; agricultural workers; and the middle classes, including_ professional men, technicians and scientists. “If Labour’s/ appeal is effective among those and other useful member? of tbe community we shall be in,” said Mr Morrison. “It looks good to me. But it would be most unwise for our people to be overconfident or to slacken.” Replying to questions, Mr Morrison suggested that Mr Churchill s Edinburgh speech on the hydrogen bomb was “an irresponsible intervention in a difficult field,” which might do the Conservatives more harm than good. Mr Morrison warned the Empire that if the Conservatives ivere returned they would be “really dangerous to the Commonwealth and Empire.”