GREAT BRITAIN: Government by Ambulance

Four times last week Britain’s socialist government was forced to count heads in Parliament. It won slim majorities over the combined opposition of Tories and Liberals on three vital issues: i) housing, 2) cost of living, 3) controls. The respective votes: 300 to 288; 299 to 284; 299 to 289.

Had any of these votes gone the other way, Prime Minister Attlee would have faced an early general election. The slight majorities, made possible by dragging in sick and ailing M.P.s in what Attlee has called “government by ambulance,” had saved Labor. Even as Labor congratulated itself, the government was defeated in a fourth division—on a motion relative to House rules. The vote: 235 to 229. Because the issue was procedural the fate of the government had not been risked and no ambulances had to be sent out.