15 JUNE 1962, Page 3

THE VITAL ISSUE

Aif determined to prove that his eve-of-poll spasm on the public opinion polls was no mere flash in the pan, Mr. Aidan Crawley con- tinued in the same fine, wild vein with his claim after he had scraped home that the result was 'a great vote of confidence in the Government.' The reduction of a majority of over 8,000 to one of little more than 1,000, coupled with, a fall of nearly one-third in the Government candidate's share of the vote, may legitimately be interpreted in many different ways, but a 'great vote of con- fidence in the Government' is not one of them. But Mr. Crawley should make a valuable addi- tion to the Conservative benches.

This, indeed, is the most comforting thing about last week's two by-elections; that both Dr. Jeremy Bray, the Labour victor at West Middles- brough, and Mr. Crawley, the Conservative at West Derbyshire, are both essentially progres- sive men vis-a-vis their own parties. Mr. Crawley's Labour past might have led him to an extreme Conservatism, as a kind of political over- compensation for mixed guilt-feelings. But in fact it has not; he is exactly the kind of new MP the Conservative Party needs if it is to make the right kind of advance into a new future—and if it comes to that into restored public confidence. And Dr. Bray is as far removed from the re- actionary Left wing of the Labour Party, as sen- sibly aware of the new kind of party needed for a new kind of society, as Mr. Crawley is from the diminishing band of Right-wing Tories.

To that extent, then, the by-elections have turned out reasonably for all concerned; Mr. Gaitskell can rejoice not only in his party's suc- cess in winning a seat from the Government for the first time in this Parliament but also in the nature of the successful candidate; and the Government may take some comfort from the fact that it might well have lost both seats, that the one it held was held by a man fully able to pull his weight .in the House of Commons, and that the Labour Party's elation at Middlesbrough must be tempered by the fact that their man was a poor third at West Derbyshire.

All of which does not get the country any nearer to a stabilisation of the political situation. In fact the state of the parties still seems remark- ably fluid. Nor . is it any use the Govern- ment's praying—or even claiming—that things will get better if it only stands firm and pursues policies without fear or favour. The fact is that on far too many issues it does not' stand firm, that its wages policy in particular seems to be dictated by both fear and favour. If the Govern- ment wants to know why it is losing popularity it should realise how much support this issue has lost it.

But although a greater degree of resolution and competence in the handling of detail would go far towards recovering the lost ground, it will not be enough in itself to allow the party to go forward to its fourth successive victory. Nor is salvation likely to be found in some of the other ideas presently being canvassed, such as a new housing drive. Only one issue presents itself as of sufficient size and significance to cap- ture the imagination and enthusiasm of the elec- torate. That is the Common Market, and the future Britain's participation in it opens up.

And here the Government is trapped in a cruel dilemma. It cannot admit 'we are going in at all costs'; indeed Mr. Sandys had to be put up in the debate on the subject to deny this directly. But short of a successful outcome of the negotia- tions it is impossible for a real campaign on this theme to be launched. Mr. Heath's interventions in the Common Market showed how the Govern- ment's authority in Parliament can be restored, but the position in the country is more difficult. The Tory campaign for the Common Market and all its rich opportunities must wait on the nego- tiations, though it could be prepared now, ready to go into action the minute the word comes from Brussels. Here, if anywhere, could be a rallying- point for a new Conservative revival. It is an expansive theme, a forward-looking one, an international one, an exciting one. Properly handled, it could leave the Labour Party's hair- splitting conservatism standing. The Common Market could provide 'the Conservatives with what any party must need after ten years of office: an appeal to the country's imagination. and a renewal of their own ideals.