PADDY ASHDOWN LITERACY PRIZE
READERS are invited to indicate the grammatical errors in the following letter from the leader of the Liberal Demo- crats. A copy of Fowler's Modern En- glish Usage or a year's subscription to The Spectator is offered to the first correct solution. (Entries to Paddy Ashdown Literacy Prize, The Spectator, 56 Doughty Street, London WCJ, by 6 July.) Dear Mrs Turnbull Thank you for your recent letter con- cerning proportional representation.
I believe that the one single most significant change that we could take in Britain in the next ten years would be to change our political and electoral sys- tem. Decentralise government and re- turn power to each individual elector. One of the most extraordinary anoma- lies arising from the prominantly dis- asterous situation the government has got themselves into over the poll tax is, that where we could have had two years ago a government elected by prop- ortional representation there is one thing that is certain that the government would never have been allowed intro- duce the poll tax. Government's over the years have to take difficult deci- sions, decisions that sometimes require sacrifices by significant proportions of the electorate. The chance of obtaining majority acceptance of these decisions are much more likely when they arise from the views of the consensus of the whole of the British people.
I am enclosing a copy of our pocket guide to policy together with some information on proportional repre- sentation, which I hope will answer your queries.
Yours sincerely
Paddy Ashdown
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