I URGE all citizens of the area covered by Huntingdonshire District Council not only to exercise their vote but also to force their will on their chosen representatives to remove the authority they vest in the executives of the council through the cabinet

I URGE all citizens of the area covered by Huntingdonshire District Council not only to exercise their vote but also to force their will on their chosen representatives to remove the authority they vest in the executives of the council through the cabinet process.

We are led to believe as lay persons that our councillors vote on individual issues that affect us as residents. In operating this cabinet approach, after we have voted we are disfranchised by a few cohorts in a Conservative-controlled council that allows its officers to make the decisions that we expect from our councillors.

I am normally a Conservative voter, so my criticism is based on the operation of the process, not on specific policies.

I was refused a meeting with either the chief executive or the leader of the council to mediate on a matter that eventually cost me £615 in a court fine and is still costing me money to pursue. My local councillor, who tried to intervene on my behalf, was roundly rebuffed by the leader of his party.

My point is that we are being governed without consultation and not treated as customers of the council, merely tax-making fodder with nothing to say about the running of our district or the conduct of its officers. They offer you plenty, but deliver nothing but their own interests.

In St Neots planning consent has been given for a J D Wetherspoon pub in the old post office. St Neots Town Council did not want it, but the planning officers allowed it over their heads. This is an example of cabinet government in local authorities.

The Huntingdonshire population, present and future, will demand better than it gets today from our civic leaders and paid employees of our council.

FRED WOOD

Agden Green

Great Staughton