A People’s Runnymede

DURING the years between the first and second world wars half the population of the United Kingdom lived in poverty, one quarter were undernourished, a slightly lesser number suffered from deficiency diseases, and seventy-five per cent. of recruits for H.M. Forces were rejected as medically unfit.

But very few people felt any sense of personal responsi­bility for this condition. Less than twenty per cent. of the population took an active interest in politics and only sixty per cent. of voters used their franchise. There was little or no conception of a common social responsibility, or a common national purpose to direct the activities of the State to secure the peace, security, and happiness of the people.