TORY abstentions and criticism, if continued, would undoubtedly give England Socialism in 1960, said Mr R H Turton, MP for Thirsk and Malton, speaking at the Assembly Rooms, Malton, on Friday.

Mr Turton said that the series of bad bielection results split up the nation into those who attributed them to the electorate's ignorance of the facts of political life, to those who blamed the Government for having failed to help their own supporters and to those who believed it was all due to the inspired leadership of Mr Gaitskell and the improved electoral machine devised by Mr Wilson.

A much more ambitious Tidy Village competition, the second annual event of its kind, is to be organised this summer by Scarborough and Pickering branch of the council for the Preservation of Rural England.

All villages within the branch's area having a population of 100 and upwards will be eligible.

In addition to a plaque, to be held for one year, the winning village will receive a cash prize of £10. Only the plaque was awarded last year.

Col W S Cameron, a member of Scarborough Rural Council, and competition organiser, said that they would suggest the prize money should be spent on providing an amenity, such as a public seat, the planting of a few trees, or fencing a pond with white railings.