Great Britain: Wilson's Breather

For nine uneasy months since the Labor government came to power, Britain has lived in day-to-day expectation of another general election. Last week Prime Minister Harold Wilson ended the suspense. "I do not believe," he pronounced, "that the British people want an election." At any rate, Harold Wilson no longer wants one—this year.

Even the Tories could not fault Labor's timing. Despite a quicksilver majority of three, Wilson has managed to push through his most unpalatable legislation, a series of belt-tightening measures designed to whip Britain's flabby economy into competitive trim. The one issue that might conceivably have toppled the government,...