Scott's statecraft
Sir: The meeting which selected Sir Nicholas Scott as prospective Conservative candidate for the new seat of Kensington and Chelsea (An impeccable host and guest', 18 November) was conducted with a clear bias to the re-election of the 'incum- bent'. The audience was packed with Scott supporters who asked questions which cast aspersions on the good standing of at least two of the other candidates. Where these questions failed to undermine, there was rumour-mongering about the private lives of those individuals whilst voting took place. Several members of the audience were permitted by the Chair blatantly to eulogise Sir Nicholas instead of addressing a question to the candidate.
Sir Nicholas's victory is presented as a crushing rejection of the Tory Right. If this is the case why is it that the contest went all the way to three ballots with the final ballot producing, in Sir Nicholas's own words, 'a close run thing'?
The behaviour of some elements of the Scott camp was boorish and ungentlemanly. The effect on the younger members of the party was quite clearly one of disillusion- ment. Since such people represent the future shock troops of any election cam- paign, one wonders how the hell we will win the next election. Instead of selecting a new younger candidate for a new seat, they nar- rowly voted for no change, in the knowledge that they will have to go through the same selection process again in five years' time.
The selection of Sir Nicholas should not be characterised as a fight between Right and Left, more as a clash between young and old. The young to their credit have a firm vision of what they want to see from a future Tory administration, the old do not. But perhaps there is a useful lesson to be learned here. They may have no clear vision, they may appear like a bunch of chinless, inbred dinosaurs, but they sure as hell know how to master a successful coup. The older Tory in Kensington and Chelsea has a grasp of statecraft that would warm Machiavelli's heart.
Gerard Fox
27 Queen's Gate, London SW7
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