Long-time Labour Activist "disgusted"

from a Leicester reader I received a letter from a long-time Labour Party activist recently who wrote from hospital. He had been a member of a local council until recently but had to give the post up because he was due for a major operation. My friend had never considered himself a left-winger so his comments on Labour's record are all the more significant. There is no doubt that the feelings expressed in these extracts are shared by hundreds ef Labour Party rank and file members all over the country. The relevant parts of the letter read; "As regards the Labour Party, my disgust goes deeper and deeper. I had a friend come round, a highly successful young capitalist who runs 3 businesses besides lecturing (full time!) at the Tech, and he said: ‘what's happened to them? Can you explain it?' The only answer I could give was that thinking they had no mandate for genuine left-wing policies (and thinking they wouldn't work anyhow), they decided to try and manipulate capitalism and instead found that the international bankers, the Civil Service, the city, and the professions took them over. The mistakes of this government are so numerous, so terrible, that it is difficult to open a paper. Fundamentally, however, I believe their failure lies in two things: a) snobbery and too great an awe for institutions, etc.; b) Cowardice - the belief that a law sternly applied against vested interests will not work, e.g., (negotiation and + a loaf is better than the whole hog and a sow). An income tax inspector friend who came to see me here and hoped the Government would give the tax authorities teeth with which to catch up on the evasion they knew existed, is now thinking of voting Liberal; so is an accountant who was secretary of the Mavering Labour Party. The middle-class Labour type sees that this Government provides no alternative to the Tories - so why vote for them? I suppose it is too easy to say 'I told you so' but not even I thought they would be that weak.