6 JULY 1962, Page 15

SIR,—David Marquand's simple test to decide who is and who

is not a 'genuine progressive' is too simple even for him: in fact it is a typically mechanistic and equivocal exhibit in the museum of modern political sophistry. If Left-wing opponents of the Labour Party aren't 'genuine progressives.' what about left-wing opponents of the Democratic Party in America and of the Communist Party in Russia? Is there really no salvation outside the Church, and is colas regio ejus religio still the rule? Is the Labour Party really the only effective force for progress in this country? How progressive would it be without its left-wing opponents? Anyway, are there no effective forces for progress outside the merry-go-round of party politics?

NICOLAS WALTER

43 Aberdare Gardens, NW6