Conservatives in Llandudno
UHE Conservative Party Conference at Llan- dudno is meeting in a more confident atmo- sphere than seemed possible even two weeks ago. The latest findings of the National Public Opinion Poll seem to show that the trend which has been running so strongly against the Tories in the last few months has now been reversed and some confirmation of this may be found in the fact that polls have also indicated a steady rise in support for Britain's entry into the Com- mon Market. The party conference will also display a more united front than once seemed likely. Here Mr. Gaitskell has come to Mr. Macmillan's rescue: even those Conservatives most suspicious of Europe will surely hesitate when they find themselves at one with the Leader of the Opposition. What is bad for my opponent is good for me is a political adage of some anti- quity, and, as dispute around the European issue sharpens, Conservative doubters will become fewer and less vocal. Mr. Gaitskell has helped in other ways too. The logic of Labour's rejec- tion of Europe would lead the party into a little- England type of neutralism, and there will be loud voices raised on the left of the party to point the moral. Mr. Gaitskell's position is deeply contradictory: a supporter of NATO, he denounces the only means by which the alliance can be consolidated. An advocate of modernity, he has turned his back on what is evidently the future of Europe. Against the parochialism and obsession with the past displayed at Brighton, the Conservatives at Llandudno should show them- selves to be the party of the future, concerned to modernise Great Britain and ready to work with neighbouring countries to this end. Then they can expect with some confidence the support of the most vital and youthful elements in our society.
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