Sir, - Vonnie Roche (June 20th) calls on all political parties to consider a gender quota in future elections as suggested in the EU recently. No doubt in the interest of justice, she will accept that we should have other quotas to ensure balance, for example between heterosexual and homosexual people, between those over 40 and those under 40, between those above and below a given income. And we should surely set aside quotas based on education religion, county of residence, and preference for cats as opposed to dogs.
While the notion is laudable and it is beyond argument that women should be more adequately represented at all levels of public life, using a quota system to achieve such an end is ultimately destructive of democracy. Such a quota is a form of affirmative action and the acrimonious debate in the United States is surely warning enough of the division such a quota could cause. Yours, etc.,
Liverpool,
New York.