19 JULY 1935, Page 3

The Week in Parliament Our Parliamentary correspondent writes : The

triumph of the Labour Party at West Toxteth has reminded scores of National Government supporters who won " fiuke " victories in 1931 that in the words of Lord Snowden with reference to the Labour Members on the eve of the debacle "the place that knows them now, will know them no more." Following on the remarkable by-election results in the spring of this year, many of them, though not optimistic about their electoral chances, had in Mr. Winston Churchill's latest phrase "clung tenaciously to the last straws of hope." Now they realize that they are doomed to massacre. But those with com- fortable majorities even in industrial seats remain undisturbed by the result. They point out that the Labour Party has not even improved on its 1931 position and 'is separated by a vital 5,000 votes from its peak position in 1929. That there will be an election this year is becoming increasingly unlikely. I hear, indeed, that the Central Office organizers have instructions to proceed with their autumn' campaign on the basis that there will be no general election until the spring.

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