Switch to STV

Paul Henderson Scott decries the adversarial antics of our MSPs at Holyrood (Platform, 18 January). But what else should we expect from a voting system that puts all the emphasis on political parties and makes elected members more accountable to their parties than to their constituents?

The additional member system (AMS) is a great deal better than first-past-the-post would ever have been. But we must accept AMS is designed to give proportional representation of the political parties – and nothing more. The voters have no choice of parties' candidates in constituencies or in the electoral regions.

If we want to make our MSPs more accountable to their constituents, we shall have to change the voting system for the Scottish Parliament. The single transferable vote system of proportional representation, which is centred on the voters, not the parties, would shift the balance of power and accountability in just that way.

JAMES GILMOUR

East Parkside

Edinburgh