Are elections now a personality test?

■ The political system in the US is in a terrible condition. Billionaires like Donald Trump and Donald Bloomberg dominate and big media corporations decide whose voices are heard.

By contrast, our democracy is working well – voter turnout is high and people know what the parties stand for. You do not have to be a billionaire to stand as a candidate.

So why are we aping the US with head-to-head debates on TV and so much media attention to leading personalities? The election is becoming more and more a presidential contest. That is the direction the media are driving us in.

But we are not just choosing the next prime minister, we are deciding the future of our country. It’s time to stop the presidential circus. Les, Edinburgh

■ I was going to write asking that if Jeremy Corbyn wins the general election on December 12, could the last person to leave Britain please turn out the lights?

However, I’m concerned that with his proposed nationalisation of the energy companies and the national grid, we would be unable to do this.

Also, with Mr Corbyn’s attack on businesses, I’m not sure there would be airlines or ferry operators left to take us away. Maybe we should practise long-distance swimming? Alex Surtees, Leeds

■ Boris Johnson choosing to campaign rather than attend a climate change debate on Channel 4 tells me that he’s only in it for himself.

Climate change and the resulting tragic weather conditions are surely more important than a couple of votes. We know he has no answers so avoids the questions. Scott, Edinburgh

■ Anthony from Margate is wrong to say plastic is ‘infinitely recyclable’ (MetroTalk, Fri). If it is recyclable at all, and a lot isn’t, it’s ‘down-cyclable’, meaning the quality reduces each time. I don’t need plastic or paper around my fruit and veg. Pete, Essex

■ Anthony says we should look to ourselves to reduce plastic use. He is totally deluded.

None of us asked for everything to be wrapped in plastic, for plastic straws, packaging for toys or a small steak, vacuum-packed into about a yard of black plastic.

We do not decide what form our shopping comes in and many people would prefer to go back to the days when cheese, for instance, was placed in grease-proof paper and tomato sauce came in a bottle.

At least then we didn’t have to make endless trips to the garden to feed our recycling bins. This is not the consumer’s fault. Martin Lawrence, South Croydon