The British Election: The Campaign Hots Up

With the General Election less than two weeks away, Labor, behind in the public opinion polls, was fighting hard, and with any weapon that came to hand. In the shadow of 900-year-old Norwich Cathedral, Labor M.P. John Paton thumped out a message to his constituents: "Tory policy means war." In suburban London, another Socialist denounced the Tory candidate: "Nothing but a bloody warmonger." Labor placards in grimy, bomb-battered Liverpool proclaimed: "A third Labor government or a third World War!"

The "war party" label was a good (though unfair) line for Labor—and the Tories...