Chapter 83, Crewe, 1 September 1940
Clement Attlee sat down to polite applause as he flounced down to his seat wearily. The railway workers were always a safe bet for Labour support. But Morrison had sent a curt warning that the unions were causing trouble. As usual, Attlee feared, the usual collection of well-meaning intellectuals, firebrand reformers and union stalwarts that sheltered under Labour’s umbrella was ready to unravel within sight of the finish. Stafford Cripps, unhappily sent to bolster support in Scotland, had already made a comment that in the eyes of many amounted to a leadership challenge to Attlee. And so Attlee, with the ever canny Dalton, had journeyed to Crewe to reenergise his campaign. His speech, pleading with the electorate to dump the
“impotent gentleman’s club that passes for a cabinet” had been well-received. But the Conservatives had bought the media and Attlee knew that for every ounce of effort and energy that the Tories committed, he had to work doubly hard. Sighing, he looked at Labour’s ‘covenant with the people’.
A Fair Future:
Peace is still not assured for us and Europe. The gallant men and women in the fighting services, the Merchant Navy, Home Guard and Civil Defence, in the factories must be assured of a happier future than that they faced after the last war. The record of Labour Ministers has been one of hard tasks well done since their initiative brought about the fall of the Chamberlain Government. In 1918 "hard-faced men who had done well out of the war" were able to get the kind of land that suited themselves.
The nation wants food, work, security, houses. These are the aims. Without action they will be mere words. Labour will act to create public ownership, for the national good, of banking, transport, electricity, iron, steel, and coal, our most important natural resource which, with all its products, is vital to the future of so many families and yet is so chaotically mismanaged. Labour remains pledged to a comprehensive programme of industrial legislation, so as to secure reasonable hours and conditions of employment for all workers and adequate compensation for the accidents of working life. The Trade Unions would be supported to provide a voice for ordinary Britons, their freedom restored through the repeal of the Trade Disputes and Trade Unions Act.
Agriculture will be reformed, so that farming actually feeds the people and provides cheap, sustainable nourishment to all. Good farms will be supported. Struggling farms will, at a fair valuation, be acquired by the State. Cheap housing in the countryside and unemployment insurance will provide hope to struggling rural communities.
Labour in power will attack the problem of the distressed areas by special steps designed to deal with the root causes of their troubles, as part of a vigorous policy of national planning. Labour will sweep away the humiliating means test imposed by the 'National' Government and will provide adequately for the unemployed, but will seek above all to reabsorb idle workers into productive employment by far-reaching schemes of national development. The Labour Party stands for a big move forward in education, including the raising of the school-leaving age with adequate maintenance allowances. It will vigorously develop the health services, and, in particular, will treat as one of its immediate concerns the terrible and neglected problem of maternal mortality. It favours an increase in the amount of old age pensions and a lowering of the qualifying age. It will go ahead with the provision of healthy homes for the people at reasonable rents, until the needs of the nation are fully met.
Labour will seek to promote self-governence in the territories and collective security in the Commonwealth. Working hard to establish close industrial and economic ties, the causes of war will be removed. The irresponsible days of starting hopeless wars will replaced with engagement and reason.
Labour asks the Nation for a Parliamentary Majority to promote Socialism at home and Peace abroad.
[Game Effect] – This is an interesting one, and I have again looked at both the 1935 and 1940 pledges. Without the Beveridge Report and the trust held in Labour by a populace used to their close role within the war government, Labour for many will remain an unknown quantity. Any attack on Milan would have invoked the inevitable question “well what would you do?” A sensible Attlee has tried to put domestic reform as the priority in his quest to win. Will he gain his mandate?
El Pip: Winston update coming up. Essentially, I think at this stage he is in a very difficult position. But I agree, I doubt that he will knowingly hand power to Attlee.
Kurt_Steiner:
Trekaddict:
Morsky: This really could be a liability for Halifax. I'm not saying that the Blackshirts are a powerful force, but even their limited support could be an embarassment.
Sir Humphrey: What to do with Winston. I think this will prove an ongoing question for Halifax.
Derek Pullem: Well put, and I think that there are real possibilities for Churchill, or someone like him, to manouevre himself into a good position.
Enewald: Of course a war is coming. It's HOI2, and I do not want to play a game without a war! But Halifax doesn't know that.
Trekaddict: Agreed, but Winston has to get himself in the position of being the "I told you so" candidate. Not an easy task given that Halifax will be ready to try and block him.
Nathan Madien: Brilliant Sir, simply brilliant.
El Pip: I agree, though the timing of the election, given Chamberlain's now obvious illness, makes dumping everything upon him slightly unsightly.
TheExecuter: The question is now - can the BEF hoist this in, and will it work?
Maximus323: Again, can Gort lead this new force into battle and achieve the aim?
GeneralHannibal: Unfortunately Labour aren't in the business of being sensible.
El Pip/Arilou/Trekaddict: You'll enjoy Barbarossa I think...
DonnieBaseball/Sir Humphrey: I really think the rather disparate nature of their policies and personnel makes Labour a very unwieldy Party in 1940.
