Could there ever have been a more arrogant polemic written by a representative of our community than that of Steve Tierney ( your edition March 21) “We have the right”, the headline says, “to pick Tory mayor”. Councillor Tierney states: “Conservative town councillors pick Conservative mayors” but should they?

Do the Conservatives on Wisbech Town Council represent us all or do they only represent their cohorts? The answer is clearly the latter.

A mayor is the civic figurehead and should therefore be a councillor who has earned respect from the whole community. If there is a councillor who meets this basic criterion then that councillor should be chosen. The position of mayor is not a gift to be passed around a small group of the favoured few. The mayor represents all of the people.

We seem now to have a town council that cannot manage its affairs without incurring huge unnecessary and avoidable costs, all of which are borne by us the tax payers of Wisbech!

They take over the running of things before understanding the operation, such as removing rubbish from the market.

In the matter of the re-planning of the Market Place, where the public cast 179 votes for each of the two proposed schemes, the council then went ahead and railroaded through a completely different scheme.

I am appalled at the way the Conservative group on the council quotes and is guided by political dogma. The litmus test of a policy should be “is it good for the town and its citizen?”

In the good old days, when Wisbech thought for itself and had pride in the town, mayors were chosen on merit. Councillor Harry Potter (the Labour councillor not the magician, although he could show many of the present councillors a few tricks) was a popular mayor in the 1960s, Ann Purt and Kathy Brennan were also mayors who were not Conservatives.

Naked self-interest is the guiding light which leads this council or at least the interest of a small band of their disciples.

JOHN SMITH

Wisbech