EXCESSIVE power relies on fear, inflates the egos of those who employ it and corrupts in time.

Compare the speeches of our two most powerful leaders in recent times when accepting their initial victories, Maggie in 1979 and Tony in 1997.

They were delivered with humility, conciliatory in tone and unifying in content - qualities which are lost with time.

Both have taken the nation to war and I wonder if this, more than any other experience in power, affects the character and attitude of leaders and makes them less suitable to govern in peace.

The traits are there to see in the walk, the voice and the gestures, and they are impossible to hide, even with the help of professional image enhancers.

However, our system is well designed to affect changes when our leaders have outlived their usefulness. Churchill was rejected by the people after delivering us through the horrors of world war.

This election has revealed many alienated voters, who see the party machines robbing them of their franchise in favour of the minority floating voters in the marginal seats who can and do decide the outcome of elections.

This vast majority have almost lost interest and the sitting government is reduced to begging them to get out and vote instead of dealing with the issues that many of them feel are important.

These are brushed out of campaigns because they are not what the parties think will sway the important few floating voters who count to them most.

George Appleby,

Leighton Croft,

Clifton, York.

Updated: 09:37 Tuesday, May 03, 2005