U.K. ELECTION Wilson Poses Problem

Press, Volume CV, Issue 31007, 12 March 1966, Page 15

U.K. ELECTION Wilson Poses Problem

(N.Z. Press Association—Copyright)

LONDON, March 11.

Opposition candidates in Britain’s General Election today faced an awkward problem handed them by the Labour Prime Minister, Mr Harold Wilson.

Only a few hours after both/ the Conservative and Liberal leaders had said that Britain’s economic weakness was the main area for the campaign battle, Mr Wilson told television viewers that criticism of the nation’s financial position could weaken sterling.

“I hope nobody is going to bring sterling into this election,” said Mr Wilson. “Sterling should be above party politics." His. statement, delivered with frowning seriousness into the camera, faced his critics with a dilemma.

Any attack on the Government’s handling of the economy could be regarded by the Government as undermining the wavering strength of sterling in the world’s money markets. If sterling—which climbed slightly yesterday in the currency markets tumbled during the three weeks of the campaign Mr Wilson has indicated that his supporters would blame Opposition criticism.

Mr Wilson said that the Labour Government, while in power, had been willing to take unpleasant and unpopular steps to help sterling. The Labour Party had put sterling first.

The unpopular steps had been exploited by the very people who had made them necessary, he added, in a thrust at the previous Conservative Government. Mr Wilson’s stricture to call a truce on the economic situa-

tion was not likely to meet with a favourable welcome from Labour’s opponents as they scattered to their constituencies across the country.

Today was officially the first day of the campaign as the Queen dissolved Parliament yesterday. But in the first of the daily conservative press conferences yesterday Mr Edward Heath, leading the party for the first time in a General Election campaign, said that the economic condition of Britain was the most important single issue on which the election was really going to be fought. The Conservatives will attack the Government on the handling of the economy in the last 17 months, said Mr Heath.

Labour’s economic measures had not been effective, he said, because they had lacked conviction. CATCHPHRASE

The Party leader produced a catchphrase which political old-hanis felt they might be hearing a lot in the speeches of Conservative candidates. Britain's economy, he said, could be summed up in the figures 9,5, 1 . . . just over 9 per cent increase in earnings, 5 per cent increase in prices, and one per cent increase in productivity Blue-rosetted candidates up and down the country might get a lot of cheers from repeating the 9—s—l ratio, but Mr Wilson today had another set of numbers to cheer him.

They were the 52 per cent to 38.1 per cent lead which the latest public opinion polls showed his Party as holding over the Conservatives in the voting intentions of the man and woman in the street. The Conservatives and the Liberals have just 20 days of campaigning to reduce that massive lead.