Sir, I am writing concerning an extremely disturbing Government proposal that is going through Parliament. I have only recently learned of this and it is almost unbelievable, yet true. It is the Legislative and Regulatory Reform Bill and it threatens to destroy 700 years of democracy in the UK. It gives Government ministers the power to change or replace any law, without requiring detailed scrutiny by Parliament. The Bill can be used to change any existing legislation, from Magna Carta, to the Local Government Acts. The Bill can be applied to itself! The Government are pushing this Bill through under the guise of deregulation, when in fact the Bill not only lacks any mention of deregulation, but also lacks any meaningful safeguards to prevent abuse. The only protection we have is that the Government have stated that they will not misuse it. This is not enough.

I'd like to invite your readers to consider the comments of Oliver Heald MP, who is leading opposition to the Bill: "There is no better time than now for concerned citizens to write to their Member of Parliament, protesting about this Legislative and Regulatory Reform Bill. What the Government has come up with goes way beyond what is needed. The Government say they have 'wider ambitions'. We wonder what they are."

Already the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats are set to oppose the bill, as are the Green Party. The Save Parliament campaign (www.saveparliament.org.uk) now has over 1,700 members of the public who have signed up to voice their objections, and more are joining every day from all over the country.

I would like to urge your readers to join the campaign and write to their local MP as soon as possible.

If the Government do not amend the Bill to limit its power, it cannot be allowed to become law. It is simply too wide-ranging and gives both this and all future Governments far too much power, undermining Parliament and threatening the very foundation of democracy in the UK. I have written to my local MP, Mr David Cameron, too, and I hope he will use his high profile to bring this to everybody's attention.

David Winchester, Freeland