Mr Heath's Easy Ride
SIR,—Mr Alan Watkins is right in saying (SPECTATOR, October 14) that the Tory party no longer has the automatic support of any interest in this country. Surely this is a good thing?
In listening to the debates in Blackpool and talk- ing freely, with many of the representatives, it was clear that' those present, at any rate, are a truly heterogeneous lot. There were no fewer than 117 speakers from the floor of widely varying back- grounds, from factory worker to management, from down-to-earth northerners to eloquent intellectuals. What must be particularly encouraging was the num- ber of Young Conservatives, Bow Groupers and university graduates who were at the conference and who made their voices heard. The fact that Young Conservatives alone represented more than 1,000 of the delegates must be cause for some satisfac- tion and must add to the virility of the party.
Mr Watkiris may not believe that the Tory party has the appearance of a 'national party,' but in terms of policy and the nature of party workers and officials it certainly is. And increasingly a party of youth, too,
PETER REID 85 Dollis Park, London N3
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