AS a life-time member of the Labour Party, I never thought I would find a speech by a Tory leader at the Conservative Party Conference amusing.

But I really laughed at William Hague's speech a week last Thursday.

I had a lot of respect for past party leaders such as Churchill, Eden, MacMillan, Heath. They were men of stature, Hague is not. Who can believe him when he promises to cut taxation, but also to spend more on defence, hospitals, the Health Service, education, bobbies on the beat (or in ASDA), prisons for 'genuine refugees', staff to make a high percentage of cannabis users criminals (many of whom take it for medical reasons), higher pensions (even though it was the Tories who broke the link with pensions and will not reinstate it), I could go on and on.

He insults we electors by expecting us to believe the unbelievable. Maybe the difference between the Labour and Conservative parties is revealed by the fact that the Labour Party invited a world statesman -- Nelson Mandela -- as guest speaker and the Conservatives invited a comedian. I do not mean William Hague. but Jim Davidson.

George K Brown

Barncroft Road

Farnworth