A Tory leader’s policies
SIR – Contenders for the Conservative Party leadership would do well to remember that we live in a parliamentary democracy, not a presidential one.
The country elects the party it wishes to govern us; the party chooses its leader. As a party member, I will vote for whichever of the two candidates comes closer to honouring the 2017 general election manifesto.
Theresa May was right to go to the country in 2017 for an endorsement of her proposed changes to the 2015 manifesto, even if the result was not what she intended. The new prime minister would be unwise to follow the same route, given the current state of the polls. He or she should therefore continue as far as possible with the policies on which the party was elected. Martin Coomber
London SW19
SIR – My parents came to Britain in the Sixties and, like many hundreds of thousands of other European nationals, they were economic migrants. They worked here, lived here, paid taxes here – and now they are retired here.
During the referendum campaign, Vote Leave pledged that the rights of the 3.6 million EU nationals would be guaranteed. Michael Gove’s bold and generous plan to offer fee-free citizenship to EU nationals lawfully resident in the United Kingdom up to the 2016 referendum is the right thing to do and delivers on that promise. In setting a new tone, it will also persuade the EU to offer reciprocal rights to UK nationals living in the EU.
I support Mr Gove to be our next prime minister because this pledge shows why he is the most capable and competent candidate. Having led the EU referendum campaign to victory, he is the only candidate with a credible plan for Brexit that can bring our country together.
Alberto Costa MP (Con)
London SW1
SIR – Michael Deacon (Sketch, June 12) notes the extraordinary eagerness of candidates for the leadership of the Conservative Party to point out their tough or humble backgrounds.
This reminds me of RA Butler’s wonderful observation about Harold Macmillan: “Who are we today, the crofter’s great-grandson or the Duke’s son-in-law?” Michael Brotherton
Chippenham, Wiltshire