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Letters

Wednesday, 21st May 2008

Spectator readers respond to recent articles

Thatcher’s champion

Sir: The Spectator may have been Margaret Thatcher’s first press champion as Fraser Nelson notes (‘Labour’s best hope’, 17 May), but its support was not unwavering. At the end of 1974 it was unduly impressed by the efforts of Heath’s allies to brand her a food-hoarder when she sensibly encouraged pensioners to stock up with tinned food at a time of rising inflation. On 7 December 1974 it opined: ‘for the milk-snatcher to become the food-hoarder shows precisely the same political ineptitude as Sir Keith Joseph and it is likely to have the same political consequence’. Her defiance of the Tory critics swiftly silenced the editor’s doubts. ‘I saw how they broke Keith,’ she told him, ‘but they won’t break me.’

Alistair Cooke
London SW1

Fare’s unfair

Sir: Tom Harris, the rail minister (Letters, 17 May), rightly states that it would be unacceptable for the government to subsidise journalists and businessmen for first-class rail travel.

On that basis it would also be unacceptable for elected politicians to enjoy a comparable subsidy. Could Mr Harris, therefore, tell us how often he and other Members of Parliament have first-class rail travel not subsidised, but paid in full by the taxpayer?

Councillor Darren Solomons
Borehamwood, Hertfordshire

Scripture lesson

Sir: Theo Hobson’s interview with Gene Robinson (‘It’s harder for straights to feel Christian charity than gays’, 10 May) certainly clarifies the issue at stake. It is not primarily about homosexual practice but about Robinson stepping way beyond the Apostolic Gospel which has defined the Christian Church for 2,000 years.

Firstly, he claims that the Holy Spirit foretold this new teaching, while the Church has always understood this refers to the recollection of the life of teachings of Christ which form the four Gospels and the other New Testament writings. The Church has always understood that no new Scriptures could be added after the close of the Apostolic Age.

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nic careem

May 25th, 2008 11:58am

Dear Sir

I left the Labour party more than 18 months ago highly dissallusioned with its loss of direction and purpose. I will not take the easy option by blaming Gordon Brown for Labour's demise...that would be too easy! It far more serious, changing the leadership is not the solution, the party really needs a general reflection on where things went wrong and this can only be done when it is in opposition.

It was not an easy decision for me to leave the party that I devotedly campaigned for, for more than 16 years and I hope my many friends in Labour will understand why I have decided to join David Cameron's Conservatives. I joined the Labour party because I genuinely wanted to make a difference to ordinary peoples's lives and for a while under Tony Blair we were doing just that. I now feel that the Conservative party is in a better position to help our country regain its footing.

I have met David Cameron on two occasions in the past two years and I like his brand of caring Conservatism. I genuinely believe that his brand of Conservatism is what our country has been waiting for, for generations.

David Cameron has demonstrated that he is a true man of the people, and no Labour supporter should fear the coming of a Conservative government.

Labour has a had a good innings, but they have been at the crease for far too long without adding anymore runs. Our country now needs a team to create a country where aspiration is admired and emulated not envied, a country where hard work is fairly rewarded, a country where every young citizen feels that there is a sense of purpose to their lives, a country where social justice and equality are more than just well meaning words, a country which cares about dismantling extreme poverty, by not just throwing money at it, but by investing time and money in creating opportunities for the poor to help make their own pathways to a better life.

This is my mission goals in life. This is the reason I joined the Labour party. I am increasingly becoming confident that the modernising Conservatives are now in the best position to do this. It really is time for change!