Jenkins report

Sir: Perhaps someone who has read Lord Jenkins' proposals for electoral reform can explain in simple terms why there is a need for separate candidates (from party lists!) for the top-up seats.

Why not make the top-up seat go to the candidate from the constituency elections who scored the most votes for that party while failing to be elected? Indeed, since the top-up seats are, in the main, going to reflect the breakdown of votes among the grouped constituencies, why is it needed at all? Could not a simple adding of the votes across all the constituencies produce pretty well the same result?

RICHARD BARTLE
West Bergholt, Essex