THE Hereford Times election coverage (May 14 edition) gives much food for thought about local democracy.

One headline reads: “Spoilt papers lead to another election.” This is because there were three separate polls on the same day in Hereford (and elsewhere), national, county and town/parish elections which led to some confusion.

On the next page we read: “Two town councils and 11 parishes had no election because there were insufficient candidates to fill the vacant places.”

It is administratively and financially convenient to organise local and national elections on the same day but if this happens it is likely that national considerations will outweigh local concerns.

If a particular party is highly popular or unpopular nationally then this may well be reflected in local voting even though the issues are completely different.

There was no election for Leominster Town Council which means, among other things, that future mayors will be chosen from unelected councillors. If the three tiers of government are to be anything like democratic, then elections should be held at different times.

Having said that, when there have been local-only elections as in 2011, the turnout has generally been abysmal, showing that most people do not consider they have a part to play in local government even though they will be affected by that government’s decisions.

There tends to be an election, or in our case a non-election, and then people leave it up to ‘them’ for the next four years. Only some enthusiasts continue to take an active interest.

Much more could and should be done to encourage active participation of the local electorate and especially young people who, at least round here, might be forgiven for thinking that politics is for oldies.

JOSEPH COCKER Leominster