26 MAY 1967, Page 28

Unfair to pollsters

Sir: As J. W. M. Thompson says (19 May), if L'abour supporters are going to jump on the Liberal bandwagon in Orpington, or other voters on other bandwagons elsewhere, it is better that they should do it on the basis of a reasonably reliable public- opinion poll than they should rely on their own, possibly ill-founded, guess about who is going to be bottom.

It is not public opinion polls which cause elec- tors to vote for a candidate other than the one they really want; it is the fear of 'wasting their vote which is inseparable from our present elec- toral system. If the elector were allowed to vote

I' for A whom he really wants and '2' for B order to keep out C whom he dislikes, he vould have no need to worry about whether A .vas likely to get many votes or few, and the rotes cast would be a reliable indication of the voters' true opinions.

And if the single transferable vote system were applied not to the election of one MP but to the

election of three or more from each constituency (e.g., all of those representing a Greater London borough) the seats won would also be a true reflection of the voters wishes.

Enid Lakeman The Electoral Reform Society, Suite 56, 3 White- hall Court, Westminster, London SW1