I READ with dismay your front page story on February 19 concerning the mockery of democracy at the meeting of the Pembrokeshire County Council.
I also read the additional articles on the subject, and the many letters and points of view, that you have since published including the council leader’s reply.
The point no one seems to have excessively complained about is, that councillors are bound by a severely repressive code of conduct.
Your articles stated that many councillors felt obliged to withdraw from the chamber and take no part in the debate, because they were advised that, having previously spoken in public on the subject, should they take part in the debate, they would be breaking the code of conduct.
This particular part of the code of conduct is totally undemocratic.
Why shouldn’t councillors be allowed to air their views in public prior to a council debate? Members of parliament do it all the time.
Why should the code of conduct for local councillors be so much more repressive than that for parliamentarians?
Surely freedom of speech is a basic human right for any of us, including local councillors. If a councillor has strong views on a subject, he or she should have the right to voice them at any time. Of course he or she also has the right to change their mind after listening to the wider debate.
ARTHUR JARVIS,
Southlands,
Pembroke.
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