Letters | 15 October 2011

Members only
Sir: Charles Moore (Notes, 8 October) makes some apposite comments about this year’s Conservative conference. This was my 19th annual conference and I feel disinclined to continue to attend despite being a past branch, constituency and area chairman. It is no wonder the attendance by party members was down: Manchester is not one of the most attractive cities in England, to say the least, and accommodation near the centre is expensive. The venue is inadequate with few rooms being of a suitable size for meetings, and many fringe meetings were held too far from the centre. The echo in the main hall was disturbing. Unless the party hierarchy wants to keep activists away — which may be the case, as they are hardly in agreement with certain policies and unhappy with the coalition — the decision to abandon Bournemouth and Blackpool should be reconsidered.
Ronald Forrest
Somerset County Councillor

Sir: If, as Charles Moore suggests, Conservative activists are not welcome at conference because their financial contribution is inadequate, perhaps an alternative gathering is needed to emphasise their value. Might I suggest a tea party?
Martin Sewell
By email

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A policeman writes
Sir: Leo McKinstry is right but for the wrong reasons (‘In praise of the police’, 8 October). When I joined the police service in 1984, less than 10 per cent of my time was spent on paperwork and ‘non-core’ policing duties. Now it amounts to about 80 per cent: tenants’ committees, child protection committees, security committees, neighbourhood meetings, youth work, as well as the endless reams of time-consuming nonsensical forms we have to fill in daily. Tasks which years ago took just a few minutes now take hours. But I can tell you most of this bureaucratic left-liberal claptrap has been generated directly by the Home Office, not the police.