E P Thompson in his collection Writing By Candlelight saw Times letter writers at representative of provincial and often reactionary views. Thompson was determinedly provincial himself (from Halifax to Leamington Spa to Worcester) so perhaps this explains his interest and insight.
In recent times the Times letters page has sometimes been of more mixed views. Following Robert Jenrick’s speech to the Tory Conference in Manchester where he attacked ‘activist’ judges and defended a view he had earlier expressed that on a visit to Handsworth he had apparently not seen a white face.
Suffice to say the letter writers are not impressed.
Leave a Reply