Moving toward the Polls

Britain entered 1978 in a strange mood—volatile and perplexed, cynical and apathetic. The odds are that this will be an election year. (It doesn’t have to be. Prime Minister James Callaghan could wait until 1979: but if the sun seems to be shining between the clouds, he will probably make a run for it.) And, as Mrs. Thatcher, the Conservative leader, has been warning people, the next election, whenever it comes, will be a watershed in British history.

Of course, politicians always do think that the next election will be vital. Sometimes, however, they are right; a point of no return is passed, things are changed irrevocably. This may well be the situation in Britain now. If the Labor Party wins again, the pattern and habit of collectivism will be set so firmly that no future Conservative government would be able, or would even try, to undo it.

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Anthony Lejeune

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Britain

Margaret Thatcher

British Conservative Party

Britain entered 1978 in a strange mood—volatile and perplexed, cynical and apathetic. The odds are that this will be an election year. (It doesn’t have to be. Prime Minister James Callaghan could wait until 1979: but if the sun seems to be shining between the clouds, he will probably make a run for it.) And, as Mrs. Thatcher, the Conservative leader, has been warning people, the next election, whenever it comes, will be a watershed in British history.

Of course, politicians always do think that the next election will be vital. Sometimes, however, they are right; a point of no return is passed, things are changed irrevocably. This may well be the situation in Britain now. If the Labor Party wins again, the pattern and habit of collectivism will be set so firmly that no future Conservative government would be able, or would even try, to undo it.