31 JULY 1971, Page 27

Candidate selection

It is unfortunate that a Government that is trying so hard to raise the standard of industrial relations in the U.K. should be so inept in its handling of its own prospective candidates. Why, for example, should the mere influx of new blood render a previously suitable candidate unsuitable and liable to dismissal without explanation or warning. The fact that some of the disappointed candidates have pledged themselves to continue working for the Party in spite of their treatment is hardly surprising. Men and women who have dedicated a large part of their lives to working for a cause are unlikely to abandon it as the result of one disagreeable encounter with a party official.

Perhaps, Mr Carr's Code of Conduct would be helpful.

J. F. Anderson 207 Haverstock Hill, NW3.