18 MARCH 2006, Page 26

Politics is for hypocrites

From Dr Michael Lynch

Sir: Ferdinand Mount should take comfort, if not joy, from the refusal of the young to be hoodwinked by the so-called democratic process (Letters, 11 March). Government and parliament are dominated by hypocrites, charlatans and self-publicists. Anyone of integrity and independence of thought who enters politics is soon isolated and marginalised. The party system is such that dishonesty is not an aberrant but a defining aspect of its character.

Michael Lynch

School of Historical Studies, University of Leicester