Sir: Your correspondent, David Rennie, seems to have got the
wrong end of several sticks in his report on the selection of Sir Nicholas Scott in Kensington and Chelsea.
For a start, I have yet to meet a 'Tory lady' who reads, let alone would be influ- enced by, the hardcore tabloid press. Sec- ondly, it is hard to believe that there is a constituency anywhere in the country which would select its Member of Parliament purely, or even primarily, on ideological grounds: so of course character and charm matter — not just to the party faithful but also because these are powerful quali- ties when it comes to talking to disaffected or undecided voters at election time.
Finally, being Conservatives, it is not sur- prising that some of us involved in the selection process felt that radical change was best avoided, that loyalty and service to the country and the party are qualities worth recognising, and that the press should be there to report rather than influ- ence the outcome. Mr Rennie's informers seem to have forgotten this in their enthusi- asm to use him to discredit other good can- didates and to disparage the rigorous, fair and thorough process which resulted in Sir Nicholas's selection. Feudal it was not. Nicholas Paget-Brown
Flat 4, 35 Hollywood Road, London SW10
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