Letter: Local elections: only a period of re-evaluation in the wilderness can save the Conservatives

Sir: No doubt the election results will provoke another outburst of press speculation on John Major's future, more statements from potential leadership contenders positioning themselves in the market, and more unfavourable comparisons of the Prime Minister's style with that of more charismatic predecessors.

Why can't Conservatives and those members of the media who hound him face up to the simple facts of life? John Major is personable, sincere, and leads with an unstuffy, if uncharismatic, style which has a wide popular appeal. It is a style in keeping with the spirit of the 1990s - a decade in which we increasingly demand more accessibility and less distance between ourselves and our leaders, both Royal and elected.

So, if you are a Conservative, stop looking for the definition of your problem in your leader's personality or style. Look instead at these facts.

At the last election, a clear majority of us voted for parties whose policy direction kept our national railway system public, left our schools under locally elected control, saw our hospitals as essentially a service to the sick and not as economic units in some kind of internal market, and wanted to do something about the widening gap between the majority and the growing underclass of the homeless, the poor and the deprived. It is evident that a substantial proportion of Conservative voters also support this broad direction and are uncomfortable with recent free market radicalism. Thursday's vote is the strongest indicator yet of their discomfort.

Despite a brave statement that he wanted to lead a nation 'at ease with itself', John Major and his entire Cabinet have persisted in policies that take us in precisely the opposite direction. This is why the Tories have been deserted in such humiliating numbers at these latest elections.

The problem lies not in the leader, but in a vision of Britain that unites the Cabinet and divides the nation. If you would lead a nation at ease with itself, you must first listen to what its people are saying. I think, somehow this time, we've said it loud enough.

Yours,

RON OWEN

Winchester, Hampshire

6 May