I WROTE recently to my MP Jack Straw, expressing my concern over the lowering of the age of consent for homosexual sex.

In his reply, he rattled on about the vote being a free vote, allowing MPs to vote according to their conscience.

Fine, but in an issue as important as this surely the people should be asked whether they agree to this change. Maybe I'm naive, but I voted Labour on the promise that, at last, democracy would rule the roost at Westminster. Obviously, this seems not to be the case.

P MALLEY, Woodlea Road, Blackburn.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.