General Election, 1950. Dartford Constituency
Vote Right To Keep What's Left!
On Thursday February 23rd Vote Conservative For Margaret Roberts
[end p1]Seven Points To Remember
1. Peace.
In 1945 Bevin declared “Russia would deal better and with greater confidence with a Labour Government.” To-day, after nearly five years of Socialist Government, British Relations with Russia are more dangerously strained than at any time in the present century. Now the only constructive proposal for restoring friendly relations comes from Churchill, who says it is time we had fresh talks at the highest level. This had caused the Socialists to squeal because they hadn't thought of it.
2. Cost of Living.
Compared with 1945 when the Socialists came into power money buys less, in fact £1 now only buys 16s. 4d. worth of goods. That is what the government of the past 5 years has done for us. This lowering of the £1 has hit the lowest incomes hardest, especially the pensioners. If returned the Socialists won't change their extravagant ways and prices will still rise. Send back a Conservative Government with its policy of reducing prices and the cost of living.
3. Jobs.
In 1929 the Labour Party were returned to office claiming to have a cure for unemployment, but nevertheless unemployment rose under their administration by 1½ million people, proving that they didn't have the answer to the problem. Without American Aid there would NOW be 1½–2 million unemployed, so it is capitalism we have to thank for help. American Aid ends at the latest in 1952. What then? We must have a change of policy now before the crisis is on us.
4. Housing.
There are now more people on Housing Lists than there were in 1945. While the Socialists often compare the rate of house building with the rate after the last war they forget two things:
1. That the coalition government made many preparations for new houses before the war was over, because they had learned the lessons of the last post-war period; and,
2. That after the 14–18 war housing was in charge of a Socialist, Dr. Addison. who was eventually dismissed for incompetence.
Now in spite of all the special preparations that were made, houses are only being built half as fast as under the Tories in the late thirties and this is not fast enough.
5. Social Service.
When Beveridge first wrote his report on the Social Services during the war, he mentioned something the Socialists often forget, namely, that our Social Services were not surpassed and hardly rivalled by any other country at that time. That was before the Socialist Government.
Things like Old Age Pensions. Unemployment. Insurance. Widows' Pensions. Special School Meals. Milk Schemes, were all in existence long before the Socialist Government.
6. Planning.
Tories are not against planning when it is good. The trouble with the Socialists is that they often had no plan. Consequently we had a fuel crisis in 1947, a financial crisis the same year, when the American Loan ran out, and finally we had Devaluation. We have yet to feel the effect of this last step. Socialist planning takes us from one crisis to the next, saved only from collapse by a capitalist country like America—in fact they've had no sound plan to get us out of our economic difficulties at all and moreover they haven't got one now. Vote Conservative and save the nation while there is still time.
7. Nationalisation.
A vote for the Socialist is a vote for further Nationalisation. Remember what Ian Mikardo said at the Oxford University Labour Club. He warned his Labour audience that it was not nationalisation that would attract voters into the Labour Party. They should rather be tempted by promises of improved Social Services. Then once they were in they would vote and argue for steel nationalisation even though they didn't know the first thing about it! That is the way the Labour Party is trying to pull the wool over your eyes about the disastrous effects of Nationalisation. Stick to Private Enterprise and Progress.