I wonder if your readers know that next week is National Democracy Week?

This is a new government ­initiative “to ensure that [we all] have an equal chance to ­participate and have our say in our democracy”.

I wonder whether the Government understands irony.

At the general election in Totnes in 2017, 73 per cent of the votes made absolutely no difference to the result. Astonishing, but true.

Twenty seven per cent of our constituency electorate did

not bother to vote; maybe ­disenfranchised by the inevitability of the result.

At general elections, it usually takes around 35,000-45,000 votes to elect one Labour or Conservative MP to Parliament, but often well over a million votes for other MPs. What’s

to like about our ‘democratic’ voting system?

The Suffragettes forced

a huge democratic leap ­forward 100 years ago – let’s do it again.

Maybe we should rename next week Demand Democracy Week and insist on a fair and equal voting system.

Laurie Taylor,

Collapark, Totnes