I must agree with Cllr Paul Andrews about the decision for a single unitary authority in North Yorkshire. At present in Ryedale I have some chance of representation because there is a chance of electing candidates other than the Tory clique. Under the the new system there will be no chance of that at all! It is clear that the Tory government both nationally and locally are not interested in democracy but only in keeping their hands on power. If they truly valued democracy they would not scrap the PR voting system for Mayors and Crime Commissioners but would extend it to local and national elections. Sadly at the moment they have too much power and self interest to do so.
Glyn Wild
Swinton
Golden opportunity
Councillor Les is right when he says in last week’s Gazette and Herald that the new Unitary authority of North Yorkshire County Council will be an opportunity to strengthen local democracy but this bland statement needs some further thought.
The loss of the District Councils will inevitably give rise to the perception of a remote local government with Northallerton being seen by many as a distant power centre which simply demands money and provides some services. 
However, there is an existing network of town and parish councils with councillors drawn from the local community with a fund of local knowledge and experience and they are contactable because they live where they serve. By strengthening these bodies by, for example, making them partners in planning decisions rather than just advisory, then local government will be seen as operating at a more accessible level.
The new County Council would do well to consider the way it is chosen. At present it is dominated by the Conservative Party and this can alienate nearly half of voters who are not Tories. In the last County Council elections the Liberal Democrats got 11% of the popular vote but only 4% of the seats and there is a similar story for the other Political Parties. A system of proportional representation would mean a more representative County Council which would encourage more people from more diverse backgrounds than the present council to stand for election.
The new Unitary North Yorkshire is a golden opportunity to get more people involved and to bring local democracy back to life. The opportunity should not be wasted.
 Alan Avery
Vice Chair Thirsk and Malton Constituency Labour Party.
Pickering