SIR – When Baildon Town Council was established by popular demand in 2007, those individuals who stood for office did so purposefully as independents, because they wanted to contribute something to Baildon without benefiting any one particular cause or faction and without embroiling local people in the inevitable ‘Punch and Judy’ of party politics which is too often witnessed elsewhere.

In recent years we have sadly lost several town councillors between elections, to ill health, for example.

So, rather than organise expensive by-elections, the consensus was to invite local people to fill these posts through a rigorous process of co-option and at no cost to the taxpayer, pending the next elections which are held every four years. This worked very well and we had no complaints.

One day, a Mr Ian Lyons of Baildon Liberal Democrats (Letters, December 30) decided, having recently failed in his attempt to gain a seat on Bradford Council, that he would instead pursue his political ambitions through Baildon Town Council.

He chose to do this by forcing a by-election and then standing as the only party-political candidate, ignoring wise warnings that this would open a Pandora’s Box including a hefty bill for the taxpayer.

Councillor Joe Ashton, Independent, South Ward, Baildon Town Council, Sandals Road, Baildon