For the Conservatives it remains a thoroughly satisfactory arrangement. They
can make use of the national appeal in the constituencies and in the House of Commons they are provided with a Front Bench much stronger in personnel than any they could muster from their own unaided resources. The satellite parties are in a less happy position. It is true that they are rewarded with ministerial appointments out of all proportion to their Parliamentary strength. But it seems almost impossible that their numbers should ever substantially increase. At the present time the Government following is made up of 384 Conservatives, 33 Liberal Nationals and 8 National Labourists. The two minor groups are generally allowed to fill their own vacancies and, some- times, to nominate one candidate in the double-barrelled constituencies. Otherwise their candidatures still seem to be confined to Labour strongholds which there is no hope of winning Sir John Simon's followers, who constantly appeal for Liberal support for the Government, have been known to employ the somewhat naive argument that this is the only way in which Liberals can get returned to Parlia- ment. The Opposition Liberals retort that, if they all followed this advice, Liberal candidates could not even be nominated in nine-tenths of the constituencies.
* * *
Previous page
