Letter: Big switch off

Once again I switched on First Minister's Questions from the Scottish Parliament this week. Once again I lasted about ten minutes before my rising blood pressure forced me to switch off. Why do our politicians seem to shout at each other all the time?

Why does a culture of blame and opposition seem to pervade all parliamentary proceedings? What happened to the ideal of constructive debate for which the semi-circular chamber was designed?

Why are there so many empty seats in the chamber when MSPs only have to be there a couple of days a week? Why did we bother to elect to pay for a third tier of government, as if two weren't enough?

Any vote I cast in May will be for the least-bad option rather than a positive vote for local democracy.

RA Hawke

Craiglockhart Road

Edinburgh