THE basic fault in British politics is that not all that many people belong to political parties and only a small number of people gather together to select a party candidate – and then there is a loyalty, almost equivalent to tribalism, to a party from a number of the electorate.

We have not found a way of being discriminating about the people on our ballot papers, so we get the sort of MPs we deserve because of our lack of care and forethought.

The events unfolded recently about MPs’ expenses will have been of no avail unless we change our ways.

The same applies to our conduct in accepting credit, and being taken in by banks which offer us the earth, to have now and pay later, which, with the malpractices of banks themselves, led to the credit crisis.

I do not think there is an easy way to get a decent Government.

If things are going to get better there needs to be more than a transitory interest in politics – which there is now because of sensational revelations.

Of course, we are all going to have to pay for our neglect, because the Government has borrowed money to rescue the banks and it is going to have to be paid back.

Geoffrey Bulmer, Billingham.

AS more and more decision-making is transferred to Brussels the workload of our MPs is becoming ever lighter. Any reform should surely include the amalgamation of many constituencies and thus the reduction in the number of MPs.

This certainly applies to Scotland which, even before devolution, benefited from digressive proportionality and for the past ten years has also had its own MSPs. The Scots are grossly over-represented.

Susan Willis, Nunthorpe, Middlesbrough.