Reticence, really?

Bill Jamieson, in his excellent article “Poll victor y can be an election defeat” ( Perspective, 1 June ), refers to“A natural reluctance among voters to take big risks” and then goes on to say “there is a reticence among many voters to deliver to governments of any hue an overwhelming majority”.

As “Reticence” is defined in dictionaries as “maintenance of silence, disposition to say little”I wondered how voters would express reticence in a general election – do they votein total silence, refuse to take partin exit polls, or just not vote at all? Or did he mean reluctance all the time?

FRANK DONALD Tantallon Place, Edinburgh