Letter: Scargill and the tide of history

Scargill and the tide of historySir: Unlike Kevin Barron MP (letter, 3 May) I welcome the formation of the Socialist Labour Party. The major parliamentary parties are all either fully or mostly committed to the "market" solution for our society. The first-past-the-post voting system condemns people to only two or three choices. At the moment those choices are all on the right.

Socialism is a distinctive political philosophy just as Liberalism is and deserves to have a political party to put forward its ideas. Just as there were those of us that decided trying to mix Liberalism with Social Democracy was like trying to mix oil and water, producing a political sludge, so it was inevitable that the new-Labour home that has been created for Tories was not a place for people of principle.

I look forward to the real debates between the Liberal, Green and Socialist Labour parties as a refreshing change from the stale media-orientated debates of the Tories, Labour and Lib Dems.

Paul Macdonald

Campaign Director

The Liberal Party

London SWI