some people tired of both the cost and the low quality of some MPs and Senators.

And Government, which pushed its plans to introduce a system of 30 single seat constituencies drawn without taking parish boundaries into account, may get some support as it proceeds with what appears to be a green light from the United Kingdom.

But it is worth pausing to ask whether the proposed system is the best available, both in numbers of members, and in the nature of constituencies.

There is a strong logic to the idea that constituencies should be the same size and that it is unfair that a small constituency like Paget East should elect the same number of MPs as the much larger Warwick West.

But the Progressive Labour Party's victory in this election put the lie to the idea that the constituencies were drawn in such a way as to make such a thing impossible; and the fact that only one constituency has a white majority suggests that if people voted purely on racial lines -- with the United Bermuda Party as the "white'' party, then the PLP would have won years ago.

Thus the constituencies may be unfair, but they are not irredeemably gerrymandered.

And it may be seen as sentimental to believe the parishes still have a role to play in how people should be represented -- but most Bermudians still consider home to be a particular parish, as opposed to an arbitrarily drawn slice of the Island.

But the truth is that no matter how constituencies are divided, some will end up being larger than others as draughters will use roads and other landmarks to set boundaries.

Given that, it might be better to divide the parishes up more equitably with Warwick getting a fifth seat while a smaller constituency would lose one.

There would be some concerns that in a House with a large PLP majority, that the United Bermuda Party would be made to suffer the loss of safe seats as a result, and there is still the risk of gerrymandering whenever boundaries are being drawn.

The greater question is whether the changes would reduce or accentuate the Westminster system's greatest flaw; the fact that the first past the post system distorts victories and defeats as it did in Bermuda in 1998 (and in 1985), when the PLP's 55 percent translated into 65 percent of the seats. That is no more fair than the inequities of constituencies of varying sizes.

If Bermuda is going to look at electoral reform, then why not consider all the options, including proportional representation, a fairer system which ensures representation for all political views, or the mix of proportional representation and first past the post elections being experimented with in the UK.

At the same time, it is well worth considering what the right number of MPs is. Although a number was not specified in the PLP's platform, there has been talk in the past that 30 would be the right number.

However, it is worth remembering that even if the Cabinet as reduced to ten members, that could still leave a very small Government back bench and would cause difficulties in manning House of Assembly committees. It would also make it difficult for a Premier to replace a Minister whose performance was unsatisfactory; that is sometimes difficult when a Government has a narrow majority.

Thirty-six seats might be the right number -- smaller than now, but large enough to ensure that there is a sufficient pool of talent to serve the Island properly.