Letter: Clear as mud

Sir: John Rentoul and Colin Brown, in their article on Virginia Bottomley ("Born politician who fails communication test", 6 April), pinpoint a failure to communicate as her main problem. Surely this is the biggest problem of many politicians of all parties.

It is incredible how often the phrase "I want to make it perfectly clear" precedes a diatribe that has precisely the opposite effect. Politicians appear to muddle "talking at" people with "communicating" with them. Perhaps if we could understand what they are trying to do, how they are trying to do it and why they are trying to do it we should be more sympathetic to their causes and less inclined to accuse them of devious and arrogant behaviour.

Yours sincerely,

EDWARD DIXON

Maidenhead, Berkshire