Sir: I should like to correct or enlarge (which- ever
way one looks at it) Mr Waugh's statement (14 February) that 'a large part of Sir Alec Douglas-Home's political sex-appeal [to Tories] derives from the fact that he was once an earl.'
A large part of Sir Alec's romantic image derives from the fact that he voluntarily gave up being an earl, combined with the fact that as an earl he had been a Foreign Secretary in whom people had much confidence and respect. I do not feel that just being, or having been an earl, or a duke, or whatever, is enough for the voters. I believe proven ability in some direc- tion is needed as well.
So if the reform plan for the House of Lords goes through, I don't want all those misplaced gentlemen from the Upper House to think that their political futures are secure or the `commoners' to feel depressed. I believe even the Tories look nowadays for a certain calibre in their political representatives which is not necessarily of an hereditary nature—in any sense of the word.
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