IF the Conservatives wish to continue following a similar trajectory to that of the old Liberal Party - that is power to irrelevance - then Iain Duncan Smith is an ideal party leader.

However, should they wish to become an effective Opposition, let alone form a future government, then a new leader is needed.

While IDS had the overwhelming support of the constituencies in the leadership election and still may have, the changes in the method of electing a leader have not proved a success. Far better a system where those whose jobs will be on the line, namely MPs, are the ones who select a new party leader.

IDS was an officer in The Guards, and were the troops responsible for electing the officer in charge one wonders just how effective a body they would be.

Richard Lamb,

Greystoke Road,

York.

...THE Conservatives presumably elected Iain Duncan Smith because they wanted him to lead their party. How come they want him out so soon?

The public squabbling and muckraking has discredited the lot of them in the eyes of ordinary voters.

There must be someone who could rise above the present mess and start a new party. Just think of the votes a party that really cared about this country could get.

Imagine a government that cared about what happens here at home, there would be proper pension funding, air ambulances would be funded instead of relying on charity, stealth taxes would be a distant memory of Labour days and local councils would have much-needed cash.

But where would these millions come from? It would come as a drop in the ocean compared with what it is now costing us to rebuild countries we should not have helped knock down in the first place.

S Dunnill,

Towthorpe Road,

Haxby, York.

Updated: 12:32 Tuesday, October 28, 2003