Sir, – John Kennedy (May 15th) is quite right in his calculations of the effect of changing the British electoral system in certain ways. However, the difficulties involved in achieving a more representative system should not preclude the attempt to devise one. Other countries manage to do so. France, with a similar population to Great Britain, has a two-stage system involving a run-off between the two best-placed candidates in the first round of voting; Germany, with a population of something over 80 million, uses a mixed system of direct election and a list. The view that change is too difficult is an argument for stagnation. – Yours, etc,
BILL REDMOND,
Edinburgh.