The rise of unelected power poses a grave threat to Britain’s democracy

sir – The new Government needs to take urgent action over the concerns raised by Charles Moore (Comment, December 21) and others about the rampant growth in unelected power within the “establishment”.

Mr Moore correctly focuses most of his fire on the judiciary because it is undeniable, except by the wilfully obtuse, that many senior judges have become increasingly – and, on the matter of Brexit, brazenly – political (although not party-political).

Also of concern are the attempts to shut down criticism of bias displayed by senior legal figures, Whitehall mandarins or BBC presenters. Yes, these people should be independent. But they must also be accountable. Terry Smith

London NW11

sir – Charles Moore outlines a very important issue. No one – whether a civil servant, a judge or an economist – is truly independent. We all bring our personal beliefs and prejudices to our daily activities. His prescription is therefore correct: we elect politicians to make decisions, despite their flaws, because we can hold them to account.

All others are immune from our displeasure, and it is time to acknowledge this and roll back some of the constitutional changes of the past 15 years. Tony Narula FRCS

Wargrave, Berkshire

sir – Nick Timothy (Comment, December 16) advocates replacing the House of Lords with an elected chamber. Certainly some reform is needed, as the House itself has recognised in a number of voluntary changes it has introduced. But before wholesale reform is considered, there needs to be a clear understanding of the functions of the second chamber.

The Lords is a revising chamber that scrutinises legislation to improve it, ensure that it is fair, workable and proportionate, and minimise the risk of unintended consequences. It is fair to ask whether an elected chamber would provide the breadth and depth of experience and expertise currently present in the appointed one. Would elections provide a body of people who “know stuff ”, or would they result in a duplicate of the Commons, which would claim an equivalent mandate and confront the Commons rather than accept its primacy?

By all means let’s have reform. But let there be clear agreement on the functions of a second chamber so that any future form is fit for purpose. Lord Trees (Crossbench)

London SW1

sir – Boris Johnson should beware of enlarging an already bloated House of Lords. There is no need to ennoble Zac Goldsmith in order to make use of his environmental knowledge.

Ennobling Jo Swinson, meanwhile, after she decided to ignore the Leave vote and then lost her seat, would be an insult to democracy and further undermine what little confidence we have in the second chamber. Richard English

Poundbury, Dorset