SIR – And so the “inquest” begins into Labour’s election performance.

Were they too “left-wing”?

Was Ed Miliband the wrong leader?

Shouldn’t they have stuck with “New” Labour, etc.?

Yet, perhaps the most obvious answer is that a number of voters liked the Tory policies, but they realised they were a bit “nasty”.

At least that explains why so-called “Shy Tories” declined to say that they supported them (out of embarrassment?) during the straw polls.

The Conservative Party was once famously described by one of its own as the “nasty” party, and surely a number of Tory election policies could be described as (rather) nasty.

But, it seems, we have discovered (no matter how unpalatable) that lots of voters preferred... “nasty”!

A number of Labour, ex-government ministers have been quick off the mark (some would say too hastily and others nastily) to put the boot into Ed Miliband over what they now describe as “left-wing” policies – though they are coy about mentioning what these were.

Perhaps these “Yesterday’s Men” – and now there is a political phrase right out of the past – are really saying that they would like to see Labour become a little bit more “nasty’ too!

David Hornsby, West View Avenue, Wrose