LETTER: Chablis socialists who are forced to choose between head and heart

From Mr Tom Morton

Sir: The opprobrium with which Harriet Harman has met following her decision to send her son to a grammar school is deeply regrettable but not entirely surprising.

As a Labour-supporting, former grammar school boy, I fully endorse Ms Harman's actions. Grammar schools enshrine the finest virtues of British social democracy, offering educational opportunities to children on purely academic merit: it is astonishing that Labour does not defend them as such - for they have furnished the Labour Party with generations of vo- ters, members and, indeed, Parliamentarians.

Until the party takes the class struggle out of the classroom, Ms Harman and ambitious parents nationwide will remain stuck uneasily between Tory education cuts and snide socialist rhetoric.

Yours faithfully,

Tom Morton

London, W12

23 January