WHAT. HAPPENED
SiR,—Frank Byers should not be too anxious to condemn a system which puts nine of his friends in the House although they polled on average a mere 11,618 votes apiece. This is 'unrepresentative' if you like. Apart from Colne Valley, no other Grimond disciple came within a recount of win- ning. Whatever the voters of 620 constituencies wanted, it was not the radical alternative offered by the Member for Orkney. A party which holds only three seats in England and draws its remaining strength from the outposts of Scotland and Wales can hardly present itself as a national contender.
The three million votes amassed by Mr. Byers's colleagues were cast by electors who knew they were backing forlorn hopes. When he says that the Conservatives have only themselves to blame for losing the election, is he confirming the im- pression gained during the election, when it seemed that Mr. Byers and Mr. Grimond went out of their way to forecast a Tory win? Is this consistent with the sudden withdrawal of so many 'radicals' from marginal seats just before the campaign began?
The surprising failure of Mr. Bonham Carter at Torrington does not justify Mr. Byers in his spite- ful analysis of the result. The Tory fledgeling trounced a man who had been the local Member, who was a well-known national spokesman for his party, who had nursed the seat for over six years. Perhaps the electors of Torrington in 1964 knew their Bonham Carter rather better than they did in 1958.
ANTHONY R. JUDGE 291 Kings Road, South Harrow
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