Moderate fanatics
Sir:It is quite extraordinary that the little incident at Newham Town Hall should excite so much outrage and publicity. Are the Labour Party and Mr Roy Jenkins so feeble that a few hecklers and bags of flower will cause their collapse?
British politics has never been a safe harbour for anyone who expects a fair hearing all of the time; on the contrary a man's worth has been proven as much by the way in which he stands up to opposition as by the eloquence of his arguments.
Mr Jenkins and his fanatical moderate supporters seem to seek immunity from this rough school of politics and at the same time they present themselves as the true democrats. Yet which group of politicians has been more ruthless in their exclusion of opposition than this 'solid 'centre' group? Their extraordinary political tactics have tampered with the words 'moderate' and 'extremist' till both words deserve a lengthy note in any work on the abuse of English.
If we are for ever to be ashamed of voicing our sincere beliefs at more than a whisper than we ought to revise the list of men we fear. Is not Mr Jenkins a greater threat to freedom and democracy than any Marxist?
J. G. Hardman 52 Algernon Street, Monton, Eccles, Manchester
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