LET a hard-working woman with seven GCSEs, and three jobs to make ends meet, teach Simon Hutchence about democracy.

Democracy, Simon, is when people vote you into office to represent their views.

Of your own admission, you were not voted into office on the town council, and neither were any of the so called new councillors in 2019.

Whether you call this elected unopposed or co-opted, or appointed, makes no difference.

No-one voted you in, and this at the very least shows two things: Firstly, as no-one voted you in, you represent no-one but yourself. Your views on anything have not been put to the electorate to say either they agree or disagree.

Secondly, it shows a deep lack of interest in the town council if not enough people want to stand for election, and perhaps this stems from the fact that the town council has little power.

However, the little they have has ruined the lives of town centre residents who were never asked if they wanted the Makers Market, and five years on, have never even been consulted by people like you who claim to be democratic without any sort of mandate from the people for it.

The result of this is that any decision the town council makes is not democratically accountable, if a majority of members were not elected by the people and the so-called consultation you refer to did not invite any town centre residents to take part in, and was thus biased from the start and so invalid.

As a more educated friend than me said ‘There is no democracy without representation’, as in Hong Kong, where the legislature is half appointed by the Chinese to maintain control.

You have failed to represent me or any town centre resident because you and over half the council have no legitimacy as unelected appointees without popular support.

Jo Carter Silkmill Street