Unequal partners

As EACH day passes, the inequalities in the UK coalition government are increasingly apparent, exposing the sterility of the Liberal Democrat partners.

Having espoused proportional representation (PR) as their flagship policy over many years, the Lib Dems have sold out that policy for power, bestowed on them by their Conservative partners who have, in return, agreed to introduce legislation on constitutional reform, and in particular a referendum on a new voting system for UK elections. But the proposed alternative vote (AV) system is not PR. It gives no more than a veneer of legitimacy to elected MPs in what remains a deeply flawed first-past-the-post process.

The Conservative party will oppose its own legislation, while it will add other provisions to ensure Labour does likewise For the Lib Dems, aligning themselves with the Tories will not achieve their PR dream.

Meanwhile, Michael Moore, the Lib Dem Scottish Secretary appointed as an acceptable face of the Conservative-dominated coalition, will tell us the dates of the next two elections to the Scottish Parliament, pencilled in as soon as the 1998 Scotland Act was passed, count for nothing to our Westminster masters. As he comes north, the man with the golden tie will be wearing a suit of Thatcher blue.

ALAN R IRONS

Woodrow Road

Glasgow