Due diligence

It is often said we get what we deserve, and the election results certainly prove that. Is it not true to say that people voted without the knowledge necessary to know who was nearest to telling the truth?

Neither the Conservatives nor the Liberal Democrats had meaningful data to work with as a result of the government failing to produce an expenditure review.

Big business does not go about making takeover bids without due diligence and access to sensitive data is a given before closure of a deal. In the same way, it should be possible for opposition parties to carry out due diligence on the books of the government prior to an election.

Could a law not be passed to ensure that the opposition parties see the books no later than a month before any election? This would ensure that prospective parties have to clearly identify what changes they intend to make based on a common set of figures.

BRIAN CAMERON

Dalrymple Crescent

Edinburgh