Sir, — Although it is in general delightful to read Mr. St. John-Stevas' stimulating views, it seems nevertheless grossly unfair that you should give a Tory M.P. licence to make a blanket attack on an opposing political party without giving a Liberal the courtesy of a column reply. The wishful thinking of his last line "the Liberal vote is on the point of disintegration"(!)
w.
is not new. You will probably remember the similar prophesies (not exactly disin terested) that pretty universal before the last general election. His analysis is interesting all the same. He points out that the Labour Party under Wilson is now a party of true Conservatism. But the Liberal Party under as Mr. Grimond does not aspire to this position. Instead they are trying to develop a radical alternative to the Tory Socialist en Collectivism t Co Establishmctivism that is such a dead and dreary weight on our society — astonishing indeed that a mind as lively as Mr. Stevas' can tolerate it. Co-ownership. regional democracy, wholehearted support for European union. antimonopoly (State and private), these are Liberal policies that would make a radical change, destroying the power of this establishment collectivism that at present seems so powerful.
Certainly it is a difficult thing to do. The is always tending to lapse back into the inertia of conservatism.
E. Abraham London, W.14