Murder is not a party game
Sir: In your leading article on capital punishment (20 December) you drew atten- tion to the fact that the Government's excuse for hastening the abolition of the death penalty was to prevent it from becom- ing an election issue, and you also pointed out that Mr Heath has . . made it clear that he would in no event make capital pun- . ishment a plank of the official Conservative election platform'. A similar agreement be- tween the Government and Opposition parties took place during the 1966 election, when race relations were not discussed as the result of a mutual agreement. between Mr Wilson and Mr Heath.
But, sir, issues of such a controversial nature are precisely those which ought to be discussed at general elections, and it is un- democratic for party leaders to prevent such discussion at the only time when electors get an opportunity to air their views. Indeed, the attempt by politicians to stifle such dis- cussion and the means whereby they enact backdoor legislation on such matters as abortion, homosexuality and decimalisation, in spite of the known wishes of the majorty of the electorate and often with scarcely a quorum present in the House, indicates the cynicism of our legislators and the contempt with which they regard us.
R. G. W. Rickcord 26 Dickson Road, Lyneham, Wilts
Previous page
