SIR,—Trimmer could scarcely be wider of the \ mark than in
speaking of co-ownership as 'a scheme which has been worked out by Liberals in no more substantial detail than by Con- servatives,' and in saying, 'To encourage co- ownership may be good or had, but the opportunity exists as clearly in the Conserva- tive as in the Liberal Party.' Not merely is there a great difference between the Liberal and Conservative attitudes towards co-ownership; the difference is one between having a policy worked out in the greatest detail and having no policy whatever.
It is true that in certain of their publications the Conservatives have described schemes of profit-sharing and co-partnership (which, by the way, are not the same thing as co- ownership) operated by various firms, and given them a not-too-enthusiastic blessing. But this is not a polidy. A policy means an agenda for political action, and of this, so far as co-ownership is concerned, the Conserva- tives have not produced a tittle. In fact, they have repeatedly repudiated any intention of legislating on the subject, while their Indus- trial Charter, in which it was timidly men- tioned, has been sunk without trace.
The Liberal Party, on the other hand, has adopted an extremely detailed programme for extending co-ownership by legislation, begin- ning with the biggest concerns and aiming eventually at its adoption throughout industry. It has also produced two highly detailed reports on the subject. At the present moment a representative committee is engaged in further inquiry, and it may well propose cer- tain amendments; but that is additional proof of the very detailed way in which the Liberal Party has tackled this vitally • important question.
I am not here discussing whether the Liberal co-ownership proposals arc 'good or bad'— though I should he willing to debate that on some other occasion. I am simply concerned with Trimmer's statement that there is no substantial difference between Liberals and Conservatives on the subject. The facts rebut his assertion so plainly that I confidently count on his retracting it.—Yours faithfully,
ELLIOTT DODDS
Vice-President, Liberal Party Organisation. Jockey Hall. Huddersfield
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