The Week in Parliament Our Parliamentary correspondent writes: The present
Government has been in power since 1931 and another ten years of office is by no means unlikely. What will be the character of Parliament in 1950? Members who were in the House prior to 1931 are apprehensive. The House has undergone great changes, attributable, no doubt, to the size of the Government majority and to the feebleness of the Opposition. But the empty benches for the greater part of Monday and Tuesday of this week, when Supplementary Estimates were being considered, forebodes ill for Parlia- ment's future. Whether it is merely temporary absorption in foreign affairs, or really a lack of interest in the business of Parliament, in particular in control over expenditure, will only be decided when the international situation clears. Mr. Henderson Stewart appeared to be the only Government supporter to follow the debates closely throughout the two days. The Labour Party show little aptitude for Parlia- mentary tactics, and in spite of Mr. Wedgwood Benn's efforts they never give the Government cause for worry.
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