Spectator's Notebook
MR. LIONEL GROUSE'S article in the current Crossbow, the Bow Group's quarterly, has received plenty of attention. It is boldly headed `What The Middle Classes Want' and is crowned with the following sales line: 'For eleven years the hard core of Tory support has accepted poli- cies which ruffle its inner convictions. What now can be done to recover the middle-class vote?' Mr. Grouse takes what he no doubt considers to be a tough and realistic line. Ever since 1945, he opines, following at some distance behind Lord Salisbury, it 'has been the trend within the party to adopt "progressive" sounding policies.' It is Mr. Grouse's view that this tactic (for this is obviously how he sees it) has been an unfortu- nate one. Here Mr. Grouse strikes me as the perfect Conservative equivalent of Mr. Cross- man, who has been reacting in exactly the same way, but in the opposite direction, of course, to the recent Liberal successes. In my own view Mr. Grouse's attitude is wrong all ends up, and I can't exactly endorse his advice to the party, which is, roughly, that it should wipe that reason- able smile off its face and stand forth bold as brass as the party of petty-bourgeois reaction. Most thoughtful Conservatives see in the development of a classless society (in, roughly, the American sense) the last hope for the future —certainly of the country, and perhaps even of their party. Maybe some of Mr. Grouse's words may fall sweetly on the ears of some of those in that disaffected layer which has been giving its protest vote, where it could, to the Liberals, but I can assure him that they make no kind of sense to those of us who are waiting to see the Tories seize the chance of leading Britain into modernity.
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