Sir, In David Cameron for the first time in more than 30 years we have a future Conservative prime minister who talks more about health and education than Europe, immigration, asylum or tax cuts. How refreshing!

He is the only candidate who can win back the crucial 10 per cent of the electorate who deserted the Tories in 1997 and have seen no reason to return. The Conservatives have an opportunity to elect a leader who represents real change and with a real chance of winning an election. They must not get it wrong again.

JEFFREY BALE
Hagley, Worcs

Sir, I read Lord Tebbit’s letter of endorsement for David Davis (November 8) with sadness, as our views diverge for the first time.

I believe that David Davis is unelectable as leader of the party as he will never be able to successfully appeal to a broadly based electorate. Cameron does connect with the wider audience, and we must be wary of assuming that everyone who has this gift will turn out to be as duplicitous as Blair.

I do not agree with Lord Tebbit that there are five million Tory voters who did not turn out for Michael Howard last time, as it assumes that these voters, won over by Thatcher in the 1980s, have a natural Tory home.

I believe that in general voters are now less loyal to any particular party than in the past so we need to appeal, as Cameron does, to these wider audiences, and if they vote for him because they like the look of him on his bike or because he wears red socks then let’s worry about that after we are back in Downing Street.

IVAN SHENKMAN
London W8

Sir, The results of the Populus poll you publish (November 9) show that 50 per cent of Conservative voters think that David Davis would make the best Conservative leader as against 37 per cent for David Cameron. At the same time Conservative voters think by a margin of 4 to 1 that Cameron would be more likely to lead the Conservative Party to a general election victory.

This can lead to only one conclusion: Conservative voters do not want the Conservative Party to win the next general election.

IAN SCOTT-FRASER
Executive Member, North Shropshire Conservative Association
ian.s.fraser@btopenworld.com

Sir, Britain needs a credible Opposition. People are sick of Tony Blair and want someone to hold him to account. We want someone who can do this, not a clone of the man himself. This is why Davis should be the next leader of the Tory party. He has the right ideas and the necessary determination to unite and lead the Conservative Party and I urge all party members to choose him over the inexperienced Cameron.

KATHERINE BOWER
Screveton, Notts

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