AT a young age, my mother taught me to engage my brain before I open my mouth. I’ve always thought it’s a pity no one’s ever done the same for John Clark.

I closely studied voter apathy for my final-year project at university and while I wouldn’t say I’m an expert, I do at least know as much as the next guy.

So I definitely know, as does anyone who doesn’t live in cloud cuckoo land, that giving people a card with which they can register their displeasure at being pestered on a tea time by someone they only see every four years doesn’t stifle debate or promote apathy (Gazette & Herald, May 13).

It seems to me that a moment’s rudimentary working out should defeat the point that Coun White’s opponents and that week’s rather slavishly complicit editorial make.

I’d have thought it seemed obvious that anyone wishing to debate with canvassers would figure out that they can still do this by simply not putting the card up.

It’s maybe a little far-fetched then to say that Coun White is “preventing discussion”.

I suspect there’s more than a little political point-scoring going on here. The accusations are pitifully weak and just don’t stand up to scrutiny, which means the fact that they’ve been levelled at all smacks of desperation.

As I previously mentioned, I’ve studied the reasons why people don’t vote and curiously “not getting bothered at home while Neighbours is on” didn’t make the list.

Now I have one of these cards up and it’s definitely not out of apathy. I am absolutely certain to vote and have already decided who I’m voting for.

Further discussion with any of the candidates is unnecessary, so they should be thanking me for saving their time and allowing them to move on to people they may have a chance of persuading.

Finally, it has to be said that there are a lot of people out there who simply don’t care about politics.

Many commentators, myself included consider political apathy to be a bad thing, but I really don’t think we’ve yet reached the point where a move like this requires such a hysterical response.

Real political debate should take the form of attacking a sitting councillor’s record and policies, not his campaign tactics. Grow up.

Mark Hammond, Pickering