SO we are to have a by election for a seat on Tavistock Town Council, in which both candidates are the nominees of their parties. The party system, which has an important role in national affairs, seems to me to be quite irrelevant to the kind of issues that local councils have to deal with. In the belief that we need councillors of independent thought and judgment, I have decided that, for the first time in my life, I will abstain in the election. I have, for half a century, been asking spokesmen of the local parties to give me one example of how the introduction of party politics has improved local government. I am still waiting for an answer. Gerry Woodcock 2 Courtlands Close Tavistock
