The letter from Deborah Heneghan (Political parties use the fear factor, Your Views, September 25) illustrated the fault lines in our party political system of government. Labour are promoting the mansion tax, which is the antithesis of the bedroom tax; the former attacks the rich, while the latter attacks the poor.

While the bedroom tax pressurises the shift of council tenants into smaller premises – frequently unavailable – the mansion tax may force many who are cash poor to convert larger properties into smaller units and sell them. In many instances the owners will have been caught by the rising tide of house price inflation in London, which is unavoidable and not in the interests of anyone, but adored by governments because of the prospects for higher taxes.

The promise is that the £2million starting point – one cannot buy a mansion for £2m in London – will rise with inflation. However, as house price inflation is always much higher in London than elsewhere, it is inevitable that more and more owner occupiers in London will be scooped into the net. Governments frequently skip adjusting tax bands with rising inflation. So, an extension of council tax bands would be the logical and fairer alternative.

Meanwhile, government policies encourage expensive property developments all over London, aimed at foreign investors who frequently leave properties empty. This is an irrelevance for those who work and live in London. No political party is proposing to tackle such speculation, which is driving up prices, or the failure to build affordable homes. A solution is urgently required to enable workers in ordinary jobs to rent/buy so that London can continue to function.

The bedroom tax and mansion tax are both bad taxes and do not fit well with “togetherness” and “the big society”. Rather, they are designed to divide. But, party politics thrives on division.

The problems associated with the party political system and Westminster were illuminated by the ‘Yes’ vote in Scotland; they don’t trust Westminster. The current system of Scottish votes in Westminster, further devolution, Labour, Liberals and Conservatives squabbling over the West Lothian question and failing to reset constituency boundaries, and at the next election, a government, probably elected by a third of the electorate, illustrates that party politics trumps the interests of voters.

The solution is to turn Westminster into a museum and an expensive hotel for tourists, and start again.

Derek Coggrave

Wentworth Park, Finchley