Letter: Task of the NEC

Sir: If, as now seems likely, Grassroots Alliance candidates are elected to the National Executive Committee of the Labour Party this week in Blackpool, what can we expect?

All political parties need a ferment of debate and discussion. Labour, as a democratic party with disparate affiliates, should involve as many as possible in the formulation and dissemination of its policies. No one wants a party of uniformity and blind obedience. But there is a difference between constructive debate and destructive dissent.

In Labour's periods of office in the 1960s and 1970s, the NEC became the fiercest critic of the Government, voting for motions condemning the Government's actions and producing policy documents in direct challenge to the Cabinet, leading to Wilson and Callaghan simply ignoring the party, the NEC and the conference.

What will those elected on to the NEC see as their tasks? I hope they use the great privilege to represent the views of party members - not sectarian journals and ultra-left grouplets. I hope they will not use their vantage point to attack the party, and undermine the efforts of members campaigning in the local and European elections.

I hope that the legitimate views of those in the minority can add to the debate, not be splashed across the pages of the press as evidence of Labour splits.

PAUL RICHARDS

London W6