THE BY-ELECTIONS
SIR,—The Derbyshire election was generally expected in the Midlands to be a close one, and the majority of 4,000 against the Government candidate shows the Derbyshire people are not too satisfied, but the election at Kirkcaldy is far more indicative of the dissatisfaction of the people, for an excellent Labour candidate, a local trade unionist who had done good work for the town and was universally respected and was backed by the local Conservative and Liberal leaders, instead of getting a 95 per cent, vote, as one would have expected, only got four votes for three polled by a stranger standing as a Scottish Nationalist. After these two elections many of our M.P.s must be what is graphically called shivering in their shoes. Nor is the cause of these signs of discontent In Derbyshire and Kirkcaldy far to seek, for when we see the county councils of large counties like Perth and Angus passing resolutions, not by a majority, but unanimously, condemning the interference of Govern- ment officials with their control of county affairs, and we saw our late Chief Justice Lord Hcwart warning the nation that our liberties were in danger, it shows that, one and all, we are resolved—after all our war efforts where, indeed, everyone has done well—not to have an autocratic bureaucratic Government established in this our own country.
One cannot but sympathise with M.P.s who naturaily wish to support our Government in war-time, but no decree of a Minister, who is the servant of Parliament, not its master, should have the force of law in any matter which has not definitely to do with the war effort, and if M.P.s are wise they should remember they are elected by the people to carry out their wishes and safeguard their liberties, and the Govern- ment is one that should carry out their wishes, as they represent the people of England and Scotland ; so, as once before, they must play the man. It is quite within the bounds of possibility, as the Kirkcaldy election shows, that if a Nationalist Party puts the issue to Scotland : Will you be governed by Scotland or Whitehall officials? we may see an increased and dangerous movement which would threaten Parliament as at present constituted. We will all hope, therefore, that both Parlia- ment and the Government will realise that most of us are determined to have no Hitler Government, though each and every one of us is behind Mr. Churchill and grateful to him and to the sailors, soldiers and airmen who are risking and doing so much for our old nation.—Yours faithfully,
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