The Rule of Law
Sir Alec's solution to the problem of finding a suitable voting procedure for any future election of a leader of the Conservative Party has been accepted with satisfaction by the parliamentary party, and has also been well received by the press. It has been called a victory for all sorts of people. In my view it is an admirable solution and if it is a victory for anyone it is a victory for Bonar Law. Over fifty years ago Austen Cham- berlain and Walter Long were hopelessly dead- locked in the struggle for the succession to Bal- four. In the end both stood down fox Bonar Law. The Socialist system could not have achieved this result, for Law would have been eliminated after the first ballot: nor could the transferable Vote, for the same reason; the new Tory system could, indeed would, have done so The gain is considerable. The price is a slightly more com- plicated system. With a respectful nod to Mr. Alan Watkins, I think it seems a good bargain.
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