Mr Cartledge, in his letter (September 7) criticising both Councillor Morris Bright and myself, condescended to the level of distortion of information and evidence that has accumulated over many years regarding low election turnouts.
Mr Cartledge, in his letter (September 7) criticising both Councillor Morris Bright and myself, condescended to the level of distortion of information and evidence that has accumulated over many years regarding low election turnouts.
He says the conduct of some elected members of councils, not only locally but nationwide, may result in them receiving fewer votes?
However, John Cartledge is insulting the intelligence of the people of Elstree and Borehamwood by claiming recent press coverage of Morris Bright and myself could influence how they vote.
I would have thought that John Cartledge, having been an active member of the Borehamwood Labour Party, would have remembered the discussions about low election turnouts.
It is hardly a mind-blowing revelation that people are quite apathetic about local elections. Most of the issues that affect their quality of life, i.e. pensions; health; benefits; general taxation; employment; and fuel costs, are determined by central Government.
The comments by John Cartledge about the use of the bus transport system hardly justify what is a pathetic, cosmetic attempt to malign elected members. Why should anybody risk failing to arrive for a scheduled hospital appointment that will then require to be rearranged ? probably months later?
Elected members of both Hertsmere Borough Council and the county council often receive complaints from constituents about buses, sometimes about them arriving together like Siamese twins.
However, this often results in a sudden collective confidence among the passengers. They feel they are guaranteed to reach their chosen destinations, even if the bus has four punctures or the engine falls out, thanks to the planning of a considerate management in providing a back-up vehicle.
The attempt by John Cartledge to denigrate the efforts of Councillor Bright and myself will only appeal to those readers who share similar status as armchair pundits, whose energy would be better employed assisting the rest of us in trying to improve life for everybody within the community by offering their services in public duty.
Frank Ward,
Labour Group Leader,
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