An unprecedented situation has been created in the House of
Commons. When Mr. Lloyd George became Prime Minister in the last War, Mr. Asquith was at once recognised as Leader of the Opposition. Indeed, this position was specifically claimed for him by his followers. Today there is no party, apart from the I.L.P. and Mr. Gallacher, which professes to oppose the Government of the day. Clearly this will produce difficulties. No one who knows the working of the House can fail to recognise that an Opposition is an essential part of the Parliamentary machine. Obviously it will be necessary to invent some temporary substitute, and a great deal will depend upon the performance of those lieutenants who have been left behind on the Labour and Liberal benches. This week the spokesmen were Mr. Lees-Smith and Sir Percy Harris. It would not be surprising, however, if, when the reconstruction is completed, both these gentlemen were found on the Treasury bench. Particularly in the Labour Party some acting leader will need to be found with sufficient authority to speak for, and control, the back benchers. At Westminster, as at Bourne- mouth, the overwhelming majority supports the new Govern- ment but, as was shown by one of the speeches on Monday, there are still a few who are less concerned with the War than with their familiar political themes.
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