Sir, – It is correct to say that William Hague's tenure of the Richmondshire Constituency has been an excellent one ... and I am no Conservative. It is also true that it is now classed as a "safe" Tory seat.

If however one looks at the statistics from when Mr Hague won the seat, at a by-election in February 1989, with a majority of fewer than 3,000 votes, it will be seen that, had the SDP and the Social Liberals worked together, Mr Hague's share of the votes, 37.2 per cent , would have been dwarfed by the 54.3 per cent of the Liberals.

So, come on fellow Liberal Democrats, let's work for a change of allegiance. No party has a God-given right to a parliamentary seat and now is a perfect opportunity to prove that.

DAPHNE CLARKE

Reeth Road, Richmond.