Dirty Work at County Hall
The writer of an article on the L.C.C. elections which appeared in the Spectator three weeks ago suggested that the government of London would be healthily stimulated if Conservative and Labour candidates were returned in approximately equal numbers to County Hall. The electors of London seem to have been remarkably impressed by that contention ; but by electing 64 Conservatives, 64 Labour and one Liberal they have risked making the government of London not healthier so much as totally impossible. At the time of writing it appears likely that the deadlock will be resolved by the presentation of Labour nominees for only six of the eleven aldermanic vacancies, giving the Labour Party the very narrow majority of ten in the Council. Labour's plan for retaining control of the Council is just legitimate. But if Mr. Hayward, the Labour leader of the Council, had only infused some of the adroitness of which he has now shown himself capable into his party's handling of L.C.C. affairs during the past three years, the elections might have turned out differently. As it is, Labour today is clearly a'defeated party, and in the long run it would have done its own reputation more good if it had admitted the fact ; by doing so it could look forward to three years of opposition in which it would be admirably placed to make life for the Conservatives hot and bothering. But if it succeeds in en- trenching itself for another lease of power, there will be no cheers in any quarter. The present Labour leaders have only a dull record of dull administration to show, and this, more than the Budget or the new constituency boundaries, was responsible for their rejection by the voters. The Conservatives deserve credit for the care and enthusiasm with which they planned the campaign, though it would be rash to draw inferences for the future from last week's voting. All that can be said is that London appears to have accepted the Con- servative thesis and the need for a change at County Hall.
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