Sir, - Having posed the question "Does Ireland need a new voting system?", Professor Michael Laver (The Irish Times, July 2nd) supplies the answer: almost certainly not.
The most likely alternative, the German "additional member" PR system, has not proved a political success, so far, in New Zealand. On current showing, there is no reason to be believe it would be any more successful in Ireland than the traditional single transferable vote (STV) system.
Currently, the former European Commission President, Lord Jenkins of Hillhead, is chairing a commission that is examining alternatives to Britain's first-past-the-post system for House of Commons elections.
Indications are that there is strong public support for the STVPR system in multi-member seats. The public realises that STV combines fair representation for parties with extended choice of candidates for voters. Some PR systems address the first point, but not the second - STV addresses them both.
No doubt many British MPs would be as loath to lose their cosy single-member seats as some Irish TDs are keen to adopt them. But, as the recent Northern Ireland Assembly election shows, STV not only works, but it can have a positive influence on the political process as well. So why change it now?
As the late leader of the British Labour party, John Smith, once said: Members of the parliament should be the last people to decide how they are elected. - Yours, etc., Paul Wilder,
Chancel Street,
London.