London Conservatives

SIR – The news that Conservative candidates in London are considering setting themselves up as a separate party based on the Scottish model (report, April 5) is disturbing.

London cannot separate itself from England in the way that Scotland can. Nobody is likely to take the claims of a separate London Tory Party seriously.

Besides, the Scottish Tories had it easy in the last general election. Their literature focused almost entirely on the threat from the Scottish National Party of a second independence referendum.

Today, with that threat receding and the betrayal of Scottish fishermen in the Brexit negotiations, the Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson is set to lose many seats at Westminster to the SNP at the next election, according to opinion polls.

Should she flee to Westminster, Ms Davidson would be a disaster if ever elected Tory party leader: a ferocious Remainer and a supporter of increasing immigration, she would quickly split the party, which today needs a convinced Brexiteer to lead it.

Professor Alan Sked

London School of Economics London WC2