THE ELECTION OF PARLIAMENT 183

and the elector is led to suppose that all parties are much the

same, and that it does not matter how he votes, or whether he

votes at all. Nor are the mass of electors, not firmly attached

to any party, more likely to be satisfied. They usually desire to

see returned to power a Government able to carry through a

policy which has been stated at the election; should the

Government fail to do so, it can be judged accordingly. Under

Proportional Representation the elector would know that

whatever party he voted for, there wxnald be little likelihood of

its policy being carried out; for the Government would be a

Coalition whose nature and working \yould be unpredictable.

At the 1924 Election the majority of electors dearly wished to

defeat the Labour Government; in 1929 they wished to defeat the

Conservative Government but were not prepared for the Socialist

proposals of the Labour Party. In 1931 there was a determination

to give the National Government solid power; by 1935 enthusiasm

for that Government had waned, but the majority still preferred

it to a Labour Government. The people may have been right or

wrong to wish these results; but that they did wish them is

certain to everyone who studied opinion at the time, and, under

our present'voting system, they pecured them. The measure of

support secured by the victorious party is, no doubt, exaggerated;

but the suggestion that the present system is a gamble, and its

results a matter of chance, will not bear examination.

The members of great parties are held together to-day by

the knowledge that if they sink minor differences they may be

able to return a majority Government to power. ^Proportional

Representation, by taking away the hope of a clear majority

and increasing the chances of small groups would yield a Parlia-

. ment in which the number of parties was greatly increased.

The inevitability of Coalitions would not lessen party strife;

each party could put forward a rosy, programme without

bothering too much about its practicability: for the excuse is

. always to hand "You could not expect us to carry out all our

programme; we had to sacrifice this and that item at the request