Letters: Voting reform

Sir: Richard Mann (Letters, 9 March) says that "alternative vote" (AV) is "slightly more proportional". This is not true: it is still a majority-based system and it can be even more disproportional than first-post-the-post (FPtP).

This is borne out by some notional calculations in the report of UCL's Independent Commission on PR, which suggest that Labour's overall majority in 1997 would have been increased from 179 under FPtP to an even more absurd 213 under AV. There seems little chance of AV benefiting any of the smaller parties now completely shut out by FPtP. In particular, the Greens, who on the Continent, where there is PR, have quite a strong voice, would see their votes transferred either to Labour or the LibDems.

Nevertheless, campaigners for PR should perhaps consider the possible advantages of the introduction of AV during the lifetime of this parliament. Under FPtP, Labour, which so cynically reneged on its 1997 commitments regarding PR, could after the next election again find itself back on the opposition benches; under PR, though, they would probably at worst be leading a left-of-centre coalition.

But even with the highly unlikely conversion of anti-PR tribalists in the Cabinet, the time required for a referendum and boundary changes would rule out PR in the lifetime of this parliament. So Labour should be considering whether to risk defeat at the next election, or to introduce AV as quickly as possible and so in all probability retain an overall majority through later preference votes from other parties. Campaigners for PR could then hope that Labour, which has at least nodded in the direction of PR, could be persuaded to convert AV (that is, STV in single-member constituencies) into the much more proportional STV in multi-member constituencies.

On the other hand, if the Tories were to be re-elected, it seems probable that we could say goodbye to PR indefinitely.

JOE PATTERSON

LONDON SE19

We must preserve sanctity of life

Sir: Johann Hari, commenting on the baby MB case (9 March), mocks "sanctity of life" and Judeao-Christian principles.

As the criterion of "quality of life" takes over from "sanctity of life" and the disposal of disabled people, both young and old, is brought about at the subjective whim of doctors or relatives who decide, in the fullness of their own health, that they would not like to be in that person's shoes, we need to realise what we are throwing away and what it will be like to be on the receiving end of such a value judgement. Doctors have never before had difficulty in ascertaining if treatment is unduly burdensome and not of benefit to the patient, so why has this suddenly become such a contentious issue?

Suffering is part of the human condition and evokes a response of care and compassion. Most old people, with the support of family and friends, will go through treatment to gain a few extra years of life. The same applies to babies. Most parents would far rather have a baby whose life is short and for whom they have done all that they could, than know that they allowed their baby to be killed. Ninety-five per cent of pain can be alleviated and the other 5 per cent made manageable. It is to our shame as a society if we cannot be bothered to do this. "Quality" of life should not be an issue.

CHRISTINE HUDSON

PLYMOUTH

Sir: Johann Hari would clearly prefer a world where there is no suffering or pain. No self- denial or cross. No Calvary and no Good Friday.

It matters not whether rich or poor, believer or non-believer, nobody is exempt from suffering. It takes many different forms and is part and parcel of life. Surely the role of the medical profession is to find cures for those such as baby MB, not to adopt Hari's defeatist "we can't help you so we'll terminate your life" attitude.

PATRICK MCKAY

AMPTHILL, BEDFORDSHIRE

Sir:Tony Bland, a victim at Hillsborough, reportedly had daily physio and speech therapy for the first four months he was in hospital. He was not on a respirator, as Johann Hari says; he was tube-fed. He was not "allowed to die"; he was killed - without his consent. When his feeding tube was removed, he starved to death.

People who believe in the right to life (a preferable term to "sanctity" for those of us who have no religion) uphold the notion of inalienable human rights, as expressed in United Nations conventions. Article 6 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child states that "Every child has the inherent right to life", not "every child who passes some subjective, spurious master-race selection test".

It is precisely to protect the most vulnerable: (babies, disabled people, those with cancer or Alzheimer's or in a coma) from the deadly and ever-widening eugenic net of "philosophers" such as Peter Singer that a return to the Hippocratic principle is most urgently needed. It is only thus that we can all rest easy in the knowledge that we are respected and valued for who we are, and will receive the best possible care and support should the need arise.

DEBBY WAKEHAM

LUTON

Repair our stock of 1930s housing

Sir: Nick Mendes takes a dim view of Britain's three million 1930s houses (letter, 4 March). His comments are reminiscent of attitudes 30 years ago to Victorian housing, much of which has now been successfully restored to create highly sought-after period homes.

In fact, typical 1930s houses require relatively few "essential repairs", since they were normally better built than their Victorian forebears. Most have lasted extremely well, perhaps because of the good quality natural materials used, compared to today's replacement housing with their chipboard floors, hollow partition walls, concrete tiles and cheap, poorly painted timbers, which are unlikely to stand the test of time. You can blame the double-glazing industry for wholesale replacement of architecturally stylish original windows and distinctive "one over three" doors with awful aluminium or plastic replacements, which has wrecked the character of whole streets.

But this can now be remedied. It is a fairly simple task to insulate older properties and to fit efficient heating systems. And there are some wonderful repro Art Deco fittings available. Both financially and ecologically, restoration is a far superior option to redevelopment. I just wish someone would inform John Prescott, whose department is busy repeating the mistakes of the 1960s by demolishing vast swaths of perfectly good Victorian housing in Hull and Merseyside. Why are we British so keen to erase our popular architectural history?

IAN ROCK

CHARTERED SURVEYOR WORMINGHALL, BUCKINGHAMSHIRE

Lesson for press in divine forgiveness

Sir: Thanks to Paul Vallely's article ("The struggle to forgive", 7 March), the secular press is now without excuse for its ignorance and misrepresentations of the heart of Christian faith. The church teaches that forgiveness is neither optional, nor a quid pro quo. And while it is true that without repentance the goal of forgiveness, reconciliation, inevitably remains incomplete (because the refusal to repent constitutes a rejection of forgiveness), nevertheless forgiveness itself remains unconditional.

Two supplementary points. First, Mr Vallely fails to provide the theological warrant and justification for forgiveness: we are called to forgive others, quite simply, because God forgives us. Were God not the Forgiver, we would not even exist.

Second, without this theological foundation, forgiveness comes perilously close to being a purely utilitarian practice. Indeed much of the popular literature on forgiveness focuses entirely on its personal benefits of "inner healing". We do benefit from forgiving, but that is not the point: the point is not "me", it is the "other" to whom I pass on the free gift of God in a graceless culture.

THE REVD KIM FABRICIUS

SWANSEA

The eco costs of the dishwasher

Sir: Roger Cooper suggests (Letters, 6 March) automatic dishwashers are more environmentally friendly than washing by hand because of lower water, detergent and power usage per cycle.

Sadly, it's not possible to sum up a product's environmental impact in such simplistic terms. Additional factors include the exact method used to wash up by hand, the energy used to manufacture the item (including producing the steel, plastics and circuitry), the pollution created during distribution, the energy required to produce the extra-powerful detergents used and extract them from the waste water at the treatment plant, as well as the pollution created at the end of the item's life cycle.

If Mr Cooper has devised a way to measure all of these things against a pair of Marigolds, then he deserves a research grant.

RICHARD MARR

LONDON W3

Kolkata no longer 'magnet for misery'

Sir: Hamish McRae's article on cities (8 March) bestows the dubious distinction on my city of being a "magnet for human misery". I wish Mr McRae had done the groundwork to substantiate his sweeping statement.

While it is true that Kolkata does attract a large number of migrants for the economic opportunities it offers, it is no more a magnet for misery than other Indian cities, nor was it ever. It has but suffered enormously from the negative publicity generated by the propaganda blitz surrounding Mother Teresa.

We have now a tremendous economic regeneration in Kolkata in the IT sector and it is predicted that we might become an "IT hub" of South-East Asia in the not too distant future. It is really high time that the Western media laid to rest its prurient obsession about Kolkata.

BHAGBAT CHAKRABORTY

KOLKATA, INDIA

Global potatoes

Sir: Yesterday lunchtime I saw that the Clifton Downs branch of Sainsbury's in Bristol was selling sweet potatoes imported from New Zealand. Roll on a tax on aviation fuel!

N T SHEPHERD

BRISTOL

Back to the Stone Age

Sir: K C Gordon (Letters, 10 March) asks if faults in the buildings of the devolved parliaments mean someone is trying to tell us something about devolution. No, someone is trying to tell us something about modern architects, who can make a building look innovative but cannot make it functional - unlike, say, the prehistoric builders of Skara Brae and their counterparts in Wales.

ANN DUNCOMBE

TULLIBODY, SCOTLAND

City of the future

Sir: A correspondent (6 March) suggests lightheartedly that wind farms should be built in Westminster. What a good idea. This has already been put into practice in Manchester. On the top of the Co-operative Insurance building in Portland Street, there is a small private wind farm with several generators. What Manchester does today...

PETER COPPING

MANCHESTER

Gay? So what?

Sir: Further to Philip Hensher's column (8 March), am I alone in not having realised that Evan Davis is gay? I have watched him on the BBC for a number of years, and while admiring his broadcasting, I gave no thought to his sexuality. Is this really relevant to his position or that of other gay men?

VENETIA STENT

TWICKENHAM, MIDDLESEX

Foreign field

Sir: It seems likely that Chelsea FC have enough points to win the Premiership, but, given the new immigration policy, will they have enough points to stay in the country?

JAMES BRANCH

LONDON SE15