SIR,-1 have travelled on the escalator taking me from Coronation
Street via grammar school to Oxford. Therefore I am, by his definition, one of Charles Curran's 'white settlers of post-war Britain.' In his article he describes a class which undoubtedly does exist, and his conclusion that the Orpington result will be the first of many is, I think, justified.
But one must disagree with the way Mr. Curran reaches his conclusion. Does he really consider that the effect of inflation on the 'white settler' class (though it is. of course, of enormous importance) is 'all that matters'? We are newcomers in the class structure of Britain, but we are in the main capable of much more coherent thought than Mr. Curran gives us credit for. Does he really imagine us view- ing 'the rich' or 'the unions' in the grossly over- simplified terms he uses? No sir, our decision to vote after the Orpington model, if we have the opportunity, will be based on factors other than those allowed by Mr. Curran. We have considered and rejected the dishonest glibness of much of what the Tory Party has to offer. We are unwilling to wholeheartedly embrace the ideals of Socialism. In an election, what are we to do to register our protest'? Mere abstention is not a positive way of achieving this. The alternative is to vote Liberal, and though the Liberal Party has far to go in con- vincing us that it can put forward anything like a constructive or coherent policy, this is in fact what many people like myself will do.
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