Our electoral system needs major overhaul

Holbeck

Richard Bedford, Hill, Scarborough

There is a sweet irony in the way which Boris Johnson has inadvertently brought the weaknesses in the country’s parliamentary system into sharp focus.

We are being treated to the farce of the Tory leadership “race”, presented by the media as a near presidential contest. Unlike an actual fight for a presidency, the outcome of things here will be decided by a tiny minority of people with vested interests in the Tory party. Over 99% of the UK population have no say whatsoever in the matter.

We really do need to ask ourselves if we believe that Britain is a true democracy.

Although reference is often made to “our Constitution” there is no written one - Parliament can more or less make it up as it goes along, which is why we see MPs digging up ancient “rules”, “precedents” etc in order to twist things round to achieve their own ends.

It is a system wide open to abuse, as Johnson has demonstrated on any number of occasions. It is outrageous that a disgraced and unrepentant PM should continue to sit in No.10.

The removal of a Prime Minister should trigger an immediate general election, at the very least it should be followed by the swift election of a new party leader, then a general election.

The need for a proper written constitution has never been greater - Parliament should be made to work for the country, not the party.

Replacing the ludicrous House of unelected Lords with a wholly elected second House would be a major step forwards, and moving from the first past the post electoral system to a much fairer and inclusive PR system would bring us into line with most comparable modern democracies.

Scarborough Hospital: From the moment I arrived the nurses who met me put me at ease straight away, all of them were amazing. MIKE MINCHELLA