186 THE BRITISH APPROACH TO POLITICS

must be examined. The Prime Minister, either when he thinks
fit,, or when the five-year limit has nearly expired, advises the
King to dissolve Parliament, and the advice is taken. Writs are
then issued to the Sheriffs and Mayors, requiring them to
conduct the election; the bulk of the work is done, in their names,
by permanent local Government officials, acting as Deputy
Returning Officers, On the same date, in, every constituency,
comes Nomination Day; the candidates must then presenr
themselves to the Returning Officer, equipped with a nomination
paper signed by ten voters in the constituency, and with a
deposit of £150 which they will forfeit if they get less than one-
eighth of the votes cast. Candidates often bring many nomination
papers as a sign of their popularity and a precaution lest some
technical irregularity should make one invalid. It is possible to
insure against losing the deposit, and when this has been done
the candidate's supporters can borrow the money. Usually six
or seven per cent, of the candidates at a General Election forfeit
their deposits. If only one candidate appears on Nomination
Day he is declared elected forthwith; this is likely to happen in
some forty or fifty constituencies where experience has shown
that one party invariably wins; in the remainder a poll is held
nine days after Nomination Day.

Meanwhile the campaign has been in progress ever since
the date of Dissolution was known. Each candidate is allowed
one free postal delivery to every elector, and by this means
sends out his Election Address, a four-page folder bearing on
the outside a photograph, personal details and a list of meetings
to be held; inside is a statement of some 1,000 words outlining
the candidate's policy and the defects in those of his opponents.
The electors react in a variety of ways; many read the Address,
and allow it to have some influence on their opinion; some use it
as fuel, or wrapping paper, or leave it to lie unopened; zealous
partisans and persons with a special plan* for putting the world
right, return it to the sender with critical notes in the margin^
or savage comments written across it.