SIR - N Taylor is right. We have a rotten electoral system in Britain (Letters, Wednesday, October 19).

We have three main parties. The Conservatives are a European-hating party of the extreme right, the Liberal Democrats a timid left-of-centre party, very mildly pro-Europe, and between these two in the political spectrum, the so-called New Labour party, split down the middle on Europe as on everything else.

It takes more than twice as many votes to elect a pro-European as it does to elect a Europe-hater.

As usual, N Taylor is incapable of understanding that England is only one part of the United Kingdom. And yes, the Tories did poll 60,000 more votes than New Labour in England.

In Scotland and Wales, however, the Europe haters were more or less wiped out.

D E MARGRETT,

Worcester.