Look in mirror Lord McConnell

Sir, - It seems strange that former First Minister Jack McConnell (now a life peer) should be arguing against Holyrood list MSPs having a “job for life” (January 17).

It is for the political parties to decide who is placed on the list and for the voters to decide whether they back the party who put them there.

If they are dissatisfied with their performance, they can simply place their cross against the name of another party at the next election.

This is markedly different to the system in the bloated House of Lords where parties submit individuals for a peerage and they are then there for the rest of their life if they choose.

The democracy in the list system may be flawed, but it is democracy.

That can hardly be said about the method of getting into the House of Lords. Lord McConnell should have taken a long, hard look in the mirror before he made his illinformed comments.

With regard to the number of MSPs we have, I would suggest that, for a population of just over five million, 129 is more than enough.

We shall soon have 600 MPs at Westminster for a United Kingdom population of more than 63 million.

Instead of trying to increase the Holyrood intake, we should be looking more closely at how they can liaise better with councillors and MPs. The public is in no mood to countenance an increase in the number of elected representatives we have. Bob Taylor. 24 Shiel Court, Glenrothes.

PA. Nine Scottish veterans who served during the D-Day landings in 1944 receive the French Legion of Honour from French Consul General Emmanuel Cocher at a ceremony at Edinburgh Castle.