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Reflections on the British general election of 1966

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 March 2014

Extract

If the democratic process is to be justified elections must have a definite signrficance within the context of the problems facing the country in which they take place. By this standard the British general election of 1966 is hardly a source of much encouragement. It may have been inevitable in that a government with a majority of three could not be expected to overlook a possibility of getting something more comfortable; and in that sense the decision to have an election has been proved correct, Other things being equal a majority of 97 is obviously a more workable one, and some of the wear and tear of the parliamentary battle as well as of the pre-election atmosphere that has never been absent from the British scene since 1962-3 should now be removed to the benefit of efficient government. As far as one can see this simple factor must also be the one that weighed with the electorate.

Type
Original Article
Copyright
Copyright © Government and Opposition Ltd 1966

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