From Air Vice-Marshall D. C. T.
Bennett Sir: We are not going into Europe. We are British.
D. C. T. Bennett Blackbushe Airport, Surrey Sir: A Conservative has been defined as a member of a political party which seeks to maintain existing institutions, or to keep change within the narrowest limits. By this definition, there are less than twenty Conservatives in the present Parliament. I do not believe that the party which sits under the name of 'Conservative' is one for which a genuine Conservative should vote. Furthermore, a party which pursues an undeclared policy (EEC entry) which at once negates its announced intentions, such as control of immigration and seeking to reduce prices, should not be supported, under any name whatsoever.
It must be wrong that a genuine Conservative, such as Mr Bell, can be persecuted for adhering to Conservative principles. It cannot be right to insist that a Member of Parliament be merely a delegate of his local constituency party, as opposed to being the representative of his constituents. Were , Conservative Central Office under strict control of the party leadership, with the constituency parties under firm control of ' Central Office, an extremely undemocratic situation could exist, particularly if that leadership were ' not truly Conservative.
The confirmation of Mr Bell and his fellow ' rebels ' (who by definition are not rebels) as sitting' members for their constituencies would demonstrate that no such situation exists, so reassuring true Conservatives. It would not, of course, ensure their votes for the Party as it is now composed. B. J. Kennedy, 14 Tamar Avenue, Taunton
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