Vital that we have elected councillors

AS chairman of Okehampton's Liberal Democrats I feel that I must reply to Mr Riddick's letter of September 25.

Your readers may not be aware that prior to these elections seven of the 14 councillors were co-opted onto the town council. Had no election taken place there would have been eight co-opted councillors and only six elected councillors. I am sure I need not spell out the dangers that could result from this.

It is the democratic right of every voter in Okehampton to exercise their choice, especially at this moment in time when there are several major issues to be dealt with. It is vital that we have elected councillors on our town council who know they have the support of the electorate and not a group of co-opted people all of a similar political persuasion.

I was asked by Liberal Democrats, Conservatives and people of no political persuasion to see that a democratic election was held. I therefore made application for two elections: one in Okehampton (West) and one in Okehampton (East). The second election was due to two co-opted members resigning just after the first election was held. If they had resigned a week or so earlier we could have dispensed with one election and the cost of it.

I would remind Mr Riddick that in the Okehampton East election the Liberal Democrats came within 17 votes of winning the seat. This shows that, despite the vast amounts of money that the Conservatives are throwing at this parliamentary seat, there is no overwhelming support for Conservative policies and practices in Okehampton.

Currently, three of the four West Devon Borough Councillors are Liberal Democrats. I am very proud of the outstanding work carried out by them and other Liberal Democrats in the community. Despite Tory sneers, we will continue to work for the people of Okehampton.

Peter Webb

Chairman

Okehampton Liberal Democrats