The Lib-Lab Question
SIR,—Mr. Desmond Donnelly is the perpetual 'Charley's Aunt' of British politics. On what possible basis is his assertion made that they are moving 'in favour of a progressive radical movement that is classless and non-doctrinaire'? Does he suppose that because the Conservatives are frequently ashamed to spell them out that they have no doc- trines that inform both their policies and their actions? As he is still apparently a member of the Labour party, perhaps somebody should tell him that the task of making those doctrines unmistakably explicit was accomplished a generation or so ago by the late R. H. Tawney, and that if Mr. Donnelly supposes the Labour party can continue to move towards the position now occupied by the Conserva- tive party on the basis of their doctrines (which have altered little) the result is not a situation where doctrines are no longer considered relevant, even if that is the view that comes to prevail, with his warm approval, inside the Labour party. It is simply that one doctrine will have prevailed over another.
JOHN PAPWORTH
Rose Cottage, Elcombe, Stroud, Gloucestershire
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