YOUR Opinion following the election results in Hereford branded the outcome as a clear win for democracy.
Nationally, the outcome was different in one key respect.
In the country as a whole Conservatives now have 7,641 councillors - nearly 1,000 more than Labour and way ahead of the Liberal Democrats.
Conservatives also control 137 local authorities - 50 more than Labour. That should logically lead to Conservatives taking control of the Local Government Association (LGA), but this will not happen.
The LGA is organised so that greater weighting is given to urban and metropolitan areas at the expense of the Shires.
This is not democracy. It is however a simple foretaste of what would take place if John Prescott succeeded in inflicting Regional Government upon us. We must fight to ensure it cannot happen.
Philip Bushill-Matthews MEP,
European Parliament, Brussels.
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