Curtailing the Tory leadership race would be unfair and irresponsible
SIR – It is widely believed that Boris Johnson will be the next leader of the Conservative Party.
David Kilpatrick (Letters, June 14) argues that the election process should therefore be curtailed to save time, in view of the Brexit deadline in October. However, changing the rules of the game once it has started smacks of sharp practice. All candidates must receive full scrutiny.
Kingston upon Thames, Surrey
SIR – The hustings are a waste of time and money. It is only when the number of candidates has been whittled down to two that party members will have any direct influence.
Members can already express their candidate preferences to their MP.
St Austell, Cornwall
SIR – It would be an act of folly for Tory whips to try to circumvent the party members in selecting the next leader (report, June 15). There may be good reasons for not giving them the final choice, and this tetchy contest is certainly not helping to unify the party. The hustings process is also too long and needs to be streamlined.
Nevertheless, the members expect a proper choice between two very different candidates. They are perfectly capable of selecting the right one: grass-roots Tories (unlike their Labour counterparts) can spot a winner. Depriving them of the final say will cause more to resign their membership. A G Whitehead
St Leonards-on-sea, East Sussex
SIR – Last week I was expelled from the Tory party by my local association – on the same day that 10 MPS voted with the Opposition against their own party. My crime was having had the temerity to stand as an independent candidate in the recent local elections.
There can be no clearer example of how the Tories have lost touch with electoral reality, and why a strong and decisive new leader is essential if the party is to be saved from destruction. John Borland
Ely, Cambridgeshire
SIR – Things which actually matter to people are being neglected while the Conservative Party gazes into its navel.
For instance, my daughter has informed me that her school will no longer offer A-level geography from September 2020, for budgetary reasons. I do wonder if it is Tory policy to make ignorance great again.
I fit the demographic that should form the basis of the party’s support. I have voted for the Conservatives in the past. However, I cannot see myself doing so in the future.
Boris Johnson says the party faces extinction if it does not deliver Brexit. He is wrong. Regardless of the outcome of Brexit, the Conservative Party will be extinct unless it can convince voters such as myself that it is fit to govern.