Dear Sir,

To my mind, Polly (Party politics starting to ‘ruin Island’, June 8) makes a worthwhile point about the detrimental effects of party politics in Bermuda.

I believe that the trouble began when the now defunct UBP was formed without reference to the electorate. WS Gilbert, in good humour, pointed to a major pitfall when he put these words in the mouth of Sir Joseph Porter in HMS Pinafore: “I always voted at my party’s call, and I never thought of thinking for myself at all.”

ROGER SNAPE