IT’S time for my annual letter of complaint regarding your Politician of the Year Awards (“Sturgeon on course to lift her fourth Politician of Year gong”, The Herald, October 8). How many times do I need to implore you to abandon this exercise in toadying to elected representatives? These are not superstars engaged in a talent contest but well-paid employees of me and my fellow taxpayers. If not performing efficiently they should get their P45 and a ticket to the real world. Why do you continue to burnish the vanities of the employees in one single section of public service when the rest of the general public would care less if they could? Politicians should not seek or need your paper’s approbation or the endorsement of political groupies. The general public can demonstrate their feelings by their votes in the next election or through the courts, as is currently happening in the case of Alistair Carmichael.

The alternative is a change of emphasis to The Herald Worst Politician of the Year which would be more interesting and probably more productive and definitely get my vote but I would need more than one as there is an embarrassment of choice.

David J Crawford,

Flat 3/3 131 Shuna Street, Glasgow.