Great Britain: Tories Coming Up

Six months ago, most pollsters, bookmakers and other experts took it for granted that the next British elections would return the first Labor government in 13 years. Last week that outcome looked far less certain. Constitutionally, the elections must be held before Nov. 5 (likeliest dates: Oct. 15 or Oct. 22), and with only weeks to go, the polls show a drift away from Labor. One of them, the Daily Mail’s National Opinion Poll, even reported Labor’s lead down to a mere .6%, which in an election would actually result in a slim Conservative majority of 20 to 30 seats in the House of Commons.

Despite scandals and blunders, the Tory Cabinet still looks like an eager, able team. Although Britain’s foreign-trade deficit is alarming, while industrial production is not rising, most Britons still enjoy unprecedented prosperity, and the Tories make the most of the slogan, “Don’t let Labor ruin it.”

Most surprising of all has been the performance of Prime Minister Sir Alec Douglas-Home, who was widely dismissed as an amiable nonentity when he took office less than a year ago. Home has developed parliamentary agility. He has made the right tactical decisions, notably to risk several by-elections that he could have avoided; in sum they did not turn out badly for the Tories. He has been stumping the country, giving 29 rather tepid speeches and telling stories from the family joke book compiled by his wife. But his quiet jauntiness and aristocratic charm have gone over splendidly, while Laborite Harold Wilson’s mixture of midnight oil and acid is unexciting.