I think that many will feel that any postponement of the borough elections this May is wrong.

It comes after their postponement last year and impacts again on our democracy. Coming in May with the county elections could be seen as a double whammy.

But the borough, its leader and chief executive are right in my view to seek this postponement until the autumn.

A decision by the Government needs to be made urgently because even now it is so highly probable that door-to-door and personal contact with electors will be heavily impacted because of Covid.

Alternative arrangements need to be planned for, in my view, and the long-established efficient work of borough’s electoral staff not compromised.

As a candidate in the last borough elections in May 2019 – seems such a long time ago - personal interaction is what brought home to me the importance of contact.

I believe that personal contact by candidates in Mersea and Pyefleet led to having the largest turnout of voters in the borough.

While postal votes are an important feature of our system, voting at a polling station, I believe, is a key part of our system.

I hope that in the consideration now going on in Westminster that a decision is not linked with the Scottish elections.

While May 6 this year is a key date for many elections, they should not be all lumped together.

Scotland’s issues, though important, should not be linked, in my view, with the local government ones in England.

John Akker

Seaview Avenue, West Mersea

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