Disillusioned Tories should think long and hard before backing Reform
SIR – The idea that voting for Reform UK could result in the party replacing the Conservatives in the longer term (Letters, April 29) is a fantasy.
The electoral arithmetic simply doesn’t work that way, and the suggestion that we should regard a decade of Labour government as a price worth paying is glib. Labour’s cultural and social agenda is diametrically opposed to the worldview of those drawn to Reform.
I would advise anyone considering supporting this party to read Hilaire Belloc’s poem Jim, which concludes: “Always keep a-hold of Nurse/for fear of finding something worse.” Andrew Wauchope
London SE11
SIR – I can’t see why Andrew Dyke (Letters, April 29) objects to Reform UK’S “vein of populism”.
That is also known as delivering what the people vote for, and it exactly describes what the Conservative Party has failed to do. The Tories will now pay the price for holding their supporters in contempt. Philip Hall
Petersfield, Hampshire
SIR – Sir Graham Brady’s suggestion that Conservative grassroots members should be excluded from selecting their leader while the Tories are in government (report, telegraph.co.uk, April 30) is symptomatic of what has gone wrong with the party.
The candidate selection process has already resulted in a parliamentary group that looks more like a Liberalgreen coalition, and this move would simply finish the job.
Such arrogant contempt for the opinions of party members will only drive more lifelong Tory voters into the arms of Reform. Dave Hartley
Maidstone, Kent
SIR – So Sir Graham believes that the selection of the Conservative leader should be left to MPS. The polls suggest they did a superb job choosing the current incumbent. John Kennedy
Hornchurch, Essex
SIR – Although I have reservations about Rishi Sunak, and the way in which he became Tory leader, I struggle to see Penny Mordaunt as the right person to take over. She is a good performer, but that is not enough.
Unless there is a miracle, Labour will win the next election, whoever leads the Tories. Far better to have a root-and-branch overhaul afterwards, including an honest dialogue between remaining MPS and members. Then select a true Conservative leader. Christopher Hunt
Swanley, Kent
SIR – Andrew Morrison (“Ofsted judgments”, Letters, April 27) asks for one word to sum up this Government. It has to be “inadequate”. Marilyn Mullen
Gosport, Hampshire