MR. MICHAEL FOOT, I see, has been congratulated because he
has decided to remain as the candidate for Devonport, where he was defeated at the last General Election, instead of seeking another (and safer) seat. This seems to me to show an odd understanding of the Constitution and the purpose of Parlia- ment. Mr. Michael Foot was a valuable member' of the House of Commons, and his value in no way depended on his representing Devonport. He would be just .as valuable 'representing anywhere else. The purpose of the single-member constituencies in Britain is that they should enable such people to be returned. After all, Gladstone and Sir Winston Churchill both had to pack their bags and seek new territory in their time. It may, of course, be true that Mr. Foot does not wish to get back into the House in a hurry. He is hard at work on his first serious book—a book on a year in the lives of Swift,and Marlborough.
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