A SPECTATOR 'S NOTEBOOK
IT is clear that the new Parliamentary session will be both long and heated, though so far as can be seen the acutest controversy will centre round two measures only, the Parliament Bill and the Steel Bill. Both of them were cited by Mr. Ivor Thomas as prime causes of his decision to leave the Labour Party and label himself an Inde- pendent. Mr. Alfred Edwards has already made the same move— or, rather, had it forced on him ; on this issue, therefore, Labour is four down on a division. There may be other defections, but I doubt it. Some curiosity has prevailed, as usual, about the Liberals' intentions. They have not yet been definitely announced, and are hardly likely to be till the Bill is debated on second reading, but Mr. Clement Davies' speech on Wednesday was clear enough in its implications. His two main points were telling. If, he told the Government in effect, you are introducing the Bill for doctrinaire reasons as part of the general Socialist programme, then I am dead against you. If, on the other hand, you claim that you are acting solely in the national interest, that nationalisation will improve the workers' position, will increase production and lower prices at this time of economic crisis, then I am ready to be convinced. But the whole burden of proof is on you, and your demonstration of the benefits of nationalisation must be decisive. It is not hard to foresee which lobby the Liberal leader and his followers will be in.
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