Daventry's choice
Sir: The vicious diatribe from Auberon Waugh that you published some weeks ago on Mr Reg Prentice was probably best ignored since it seemed to reveal more of the unpleasant side of the writer than his victim. However now that you have printed another snide crack at him (Mr Chancellor's Notebook, 12 May) I feel it might be of some value to point to some of the reasons for the much maligned Conservatives of Daventry selecting him as their candidates. Although not one of the 180 or so representatives who made the final selection, as a Daventry Conservative I was delighted with what seemed to me an eminently sensible choice.
In normal circumstances Daventry is a safe Conserative seat and we would like it occupied by someone who can make an important contribution to a Conservative government and to thinking within the party. On both of these points Mr Prentice is fully qualified to do so since he has already been a successful minister and he does represent a growing number of men and women who are sickened to see the Labour Party that they joined no longer representing their views. Many of these people now find the Conservatives, not a party of outdated ideology, better able to accommodate their aspirations. Why, having crossed the floor, should they be treated as lepers and their political lives ended prematurely? We feel that we have been able to show that providing they have the talent it is possible to change sides and continue a career in politics.
Of course there have been those who were unhappy at the constituency's choice but most of these people have been impressed by Mr Prentice's patient and honest way in which he has explained exactly why he acted as he did. The increase in his majority from 9,000 to 21,000 would seem to show that most voters agree with our choice.
John Townsend Newbottle Manor, Banbury, Oxon
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