Madam, - In the UK election, 36 per cent of the votes got Labour 54 per cent of the seats in parliament and 100 per cent of the political power.
The Tories and Liberal Democrats combined received 56 per cent of the vote but only 39 per cent of the seats. Democracy UK-style makes the US presidential election seem almost fair.
This election confirms that proportional representation is about 200 years overdue in the UK. Catch up, guys. - Yours, etc,
SIMON McGUINNESS, St Joseph's Cottages, Ashtown, Dublin 7.
Madam, - Apart from the success of George Galloway (notable for the rarity of such events in Britain), or from the absurdities we have become used to in the Northern Ireland results, one single thing stands out from the UK election: 36 per cent of the vote is enough to give a single party a comfortable overall majority (substantially less than even what Mrs Thatcher needed to stay in government in the bad old days).
Is this sustainable (or defensible) in a European democracy? - Yours, etc,
JAIME HYLAND, Berlin, Germany.