It was refreshing to see almost a full house in Abingdon’s historic Guildhall as the contenders for the Abingdon parliamentary seat strutted their stuff.

In the dinosaur corner we had the blue, red and yellow contenders, while in the centre an unreconstructed ‘communist’ held sway. While the left was represented by the youthful, energetic National Health Action contender assisted by the Greens.

So who won? The dinosaurs seem to have forgotten the lessons of history, by their preference for variations of the status quo, no mention of reform of the parliamentary process, for example, not a whisper of implementing proportional representation which leaves the UK as the only country in the UK still using the archaic first-past-the-post system.

In contrast, the youthful contenders presented a fresh vision for the country and are to be applauded for their progressive policies.

TIMOTHY J OATES
St Peter’s Road
Abingdon