There is little doubt that as soon as Parliament reassembles
after the Whitsun recess the pressure will increase for an election in the autumn. All the indica- tions are that the appeal to the country will be made in November at the latest. But members for industrial seats are gravely perturbed at the continued delay in producing the new unemployment regulations. The changes at the Ministry of Labour are certain to lead to a further postponement. It is an open secret that the second scale proposed by the UneMployment Assistance Board proved unacceptable to the Ministry of Labour, and that the present position is one of complete deadlock. Yet the problem must be solved before the election. The Labour Party could obviously accuse the Govern- ment with sore justification of cowardice if they attempted to maintain the standstill agreement over the -election, and could paint, in horrific colours, the cuts in the unemployment scale which would follow the return of the Government with a comfortable majority,
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