homeless conservatives
Sir: May an until recently homeless liberal attempt to encourage Mr An.thony Lejeune (" We homeless conservatives" (Jiine 23) to follow Mr Enoch rowell's advice re the next general election and to vote Labour to pre8erve the authority of the House of Fommons, not merely for the sake of 'hat institution alone, but for the beater good of our freedom and na'lona! independence? Mr Lejeune refers to " Mr Wilson 411d his totalitarian-minded envious eng," Well, some of Mr Wilson's „gang ' may be so, but personally I beeve that capitalism itself has become '81r too greedy during the last ten Years and this has bred greed on the °ther side too. But perhaps if he
studies them, Mr Lejeune may find that Labour's policies are not all (if any) based on envy, but represent a fumbling but democratic attempt to find some sort of workable solution to the problems which our greed society has created.
Mr Lejeune speaks of the " vulgarities " of " participation " and " democracy," To take participation at work, for instance, it is not the function of most employees to think up ways of saving their employer's money or of improving the various productive processes with which they may be associated, but this results in a grossly wasteful loss of ideas, experience and initiative from the shopfloor and elsewhere. To use Mr Wilson's words, "they can strike, but they can rarely use their creative talent for positive actions. This lack of opportunity is open to criticism but also on grounds of economic efficiency. A vast area of potential economic strength is being sealed off."
As to', democracy," it can be as vulgar as it likes provided it gives me what perhaps more genteel but certainly more ruthless people have conspired to deny me — the opportunity to vote on the future of the country that my friends and 1 fought for and some died for. Again, to quote Mr Wilson, after the attempt to re-negotiate the terms of our enforced entry into Europe, "the final decision would be taken through the ballot box by a free vote of the British people."
The prospect of wholesale nationalisation appals me, if only from a dim awareness of the gigantic organisational problems involved and the almost inevitable chaos which would result. Selective nationalisation is another matter. I have sufficient faith in the good sense of the Labour Party to believe that eventually it will decide on selectivity.
Therefore, Mr Wilson will have my vote next time, however despairingly, however reluctantly, however watchfully, however hopefully, Mr Heath must be stopped, and Labour alone can stop him. Norman Henry 29 Inglefield Avenue, Heath, Cardiff
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