Letter: Breath of fresh air in the moral haze

Sir: By a pleasant irony, the very first seat that the Conservatives lost was Edgbaston, where the retiring MP was Dame Jill Knight, one of those who supported the infamous Clause 28.

Three hours later, we saw the Exeter result. Nothing ironic about that. Decent, non-radical Middle Englanders saw the local Conservative Party offering it a straight vote for repressive "family values" - and walked away. The Labour candidate, fighting scrupulously on national issues, won by 11,000 votes.

Suddenly, fresh air and daylight seem to have broken in on a rather marshy corner of the moral maze.

Dr MICHAEL HALLS

Christow, Devon