The Evening Star FRIDAY, DECEMBER 28, 1928. LIBERAL AND LABOUR.

Evening Star, Issue 20060, 28 December 1928, Page 6

The Evening Star FRIDAY, DECEMBER 28, 1928. LIBERAL AND LABOUR.

The sparring for position prior to tho next General Election in Great Britain is still going on. Bcccntly wc quoted utterances from prominent members of both the Liberal and the Labour Parties regarding the prospect of some accommodation between the two “ progressive ” parties, cither before or after the election. Recent files of English papers show that the two leaders— Messrs Lloyd George and Ramsay MacDonald—have taken part in the “ conversations,” and joined issue in the contest. Heartened by numerous successes for his party in the municipal elections and tiro winning of the Ashton by-election, Mr MacDonald, at Huddersfield, said that ho would be no party to minority government. “Wo are as unmoved by the cajoleries of tho Liberals, as we are indifferent to their threats.” This, is distinctly different from Mr Philip Snowden’s appeal for a friendly arrangement. The Labour Party, said Mr MacDonald, was going to appeal for a majority. And be considered that the by-election showed that this was indeed a .likelihood. Towards this end they would put as near 600 candidates in the field as they could possibly make it. Mr Lloyd George took advantage of the occasion of the eve-of-session dinner of the Liberal Parliamentary Party to reply to this optimistic estimate. He considered the Labour leader, naturally elated with the election results,' had lost his head. Ho declared he would have nothing to do with a minority government. . .' . Yet even if he won 100 seats he would not have a working majority; so ho appealed to tho Liberals to play a noble part. They must not bargain, but apparently just fall into line behind Labour. What then did Mr MacDonald mean by having nothing to do with minority government? If this attitude of the leaders is any criterion, the prospect of agreement between tho two parties seems at present rather remote. A general air of suspicion prevails. On tho one hand tho Liberals accuse the Labour Party of intrigues with tho Conservatives to prevent the Liberals from getting their fair share of representation in Parliament. Labour, on tho other hand, alleges that negotiations are going on in many of the constituencies between Liberals and Tories to prevent the success of a Labour candidate. Meanwhile the Conservative Party scores—o.g., at the Tavistock byclcction, whore its representative secured tho seat by the narrow majority of 173 over the Liberal candidate, tho Labour candidate losing Ids deposit. A powerful Liberal section, however, of which the 1 Manchester Guardian ’ is the mouthpiece, deplores competition and recrimination between the two parties while vast interests are at stake, and calls upon its adherents to concentrate on the task of ousting a reactionary government which the country as a whole repudiates and lias long repudiated.