John Harris is spot-on in his comments about how “hopelessly rigid and formulaic the political mainstream now is” (Brexit, Farage, Corbyn all sparked passion – but there’s no sign of that at either party conference, 29 September). I’m fortunate to have seen speakers including Michael Foot and Donald Soper, whose handling of heckling added a vital touch of spontaneity. You knew they were confident of their ideas and argument. Speeches written by special advisers and robotically read from the Autocue cannot offer this.
“Heckling is good,” wrote the Guardian’s political editor Michael White 18 years ago. Allowing members of an audience a brief opportunity to express a view should be considered an essential part of a democracy. This includes at conference. Rachel Reeves and Sir Keir Starmer may lack sufficient confidence in their scripts to depart from them, but bundling hecklers out of the hall gives only temporary relief. The questions remain.
Mike Sheaff
Plymouth
