At the Conference of the Independent Labour Party at York
last Saturday the Prime Minister made what was perhaps his plainest declaration so far of his conception of his own duties and the functions of the Labour Government :- " My duty is clear. It is in accordance with the principles of the Labour Party to carry on the business of the country, to keep off a General Election which nobody wants, and which, if it came, would settle nothing yet. I do not believe in Coalition. I think it clouds the issues and takes that finer sense of political honesty out of men. Therefore I do not think that a General Election could be kept off by a Coalition. I doubt if any other party in power could carry on the work of the Government. We are not the largest party, but I think the largest party which, under ordinary circumstances, ought to be the party that carries on Government, is so committed to immediate changes in matters like fiscal affairs that it could not hold office without having a combination of the other two parties made against it. That would express itself very quickly in a vote in the House of Commons which a Conservative Government would be bound to regard as a vote of no confidence."
He went on to say that he saw no reason why there should be an election for at least two years. It would take fully that time to pacify Europe. Labour wanted to " change the battle ground," to " make the groups feel their responsibility."
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