IN response to Yasmin Qureshi's comments in the Bolton News (April 11 2015) that "The Tories actually only gained 36 per cent of the vote" I would like to set her straight on a few things.

Firstly, whilst she is correct that the Tories only gained 36% of the vote, the Conservatives were actually put into power by just 24.4% of the UK electorate (when you take into account those that did not vote - whose views are still as valid). However I feel it must also be pointed out that her very own Labour party only mustered support from 20.1% of the electorate, so maybe she should step down off her high horse for a moment.

May I also remind Mrs Qureshi that she has the support of only 29.5% of her own constituents when you factor in those that did not vote, and thus cannot really claim to represent Bolton South East any more than David Cameron can claim to represent the country.

Our First Past the Post system is fundamentally flawed. We have MPs in office with less than a third of the support of the local electorate. Yet both the Conservatives, and Mrs Qureshi's beloved Labour party, continue to fight against proportional representation. As a result we, the electorate, are forced to choose between two parties that the majority of the UK don't want to vote for (collectively the Tories and Labour managed just 45% of electorate support between them). It's time that changed. Of course no system is perfect, but most are at least fairer. And a government is only as stable as the electorate that put them there.

Therefore I would like to urge all readers to speak out and campaign. Write to your MPs and demand a referendum on PR; sign the petition online (google #MakeSeatsMatchVotes); and read up on the various alternatives such as Single Transferable Vote. Let this be the last time we have to rely on voting to keep people out and make 2020 the year we can once and for all vote for those we like.

Kev Walsh