Letter: Vote for us

Geoff Stovold Blackham,East Susse
Sunday 06 September 1998 23:02 BST
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Sir: The Liberal party political broadcast on 3 September had the opposite effect to that intended. I had been rather persuaded of the logic of proportional representation. However, the image of being perpetually governed by a consortium of parties brought home to me how easily we could all suffer the tyranny of the majority.

Like most people I belong to a minority or two. In my case, I enjoy fox- hunting and riding powerful motorcycles. The good thing about power being vested in a single party for a parliamentary term is that that party loves the experience of power and is loath to lose it. For this reason, upsetting vociferous minorities does not make sense.

Take the issue of fox-hunting. The majority, if pressed, are agin it but don't actually care very much. A large minority care very much. Consequence: no electoral advantage and the death of the Foster Bill.

Consortium rule means that it is very hard to pin blame and to wreak revenge as occurred on 1 May 1997. Single-party rule, by any party, is much more likely to be sensitive to the wishes of all the electorate.

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