IS it so surprising that the electorate is disaffected and is rejecting the traditional parties? Had there been more elections in rural districts last week there would surely have been an even greater protest vote.

And it is interesting to note that last Friday a non-party-political Community Action Group in Formby, Lancashire, campaigning against over-development, convincingly won a councillor seat from a “safe” Labour councillor.

And why is this? Since the inception of the National Planning Policy there has been a relentless attack on our countryside, on our small towns and villages and our green belt, by developers in league with local politicians pursuing housing policies promoted by the main political parties.

The result has not been “affordable” homes nor housing for social need, in which large developers are not interested, but a rash of expensive and unsustainable housing development, much of it sold as second-homes or investment properties.

This, encouraged by the Right-to-Buy scheme, has only increased the price of housing and created a housing bubble.

And whatever happened to the coalition Government’s vaunted “localism”?

It is now exposed as a sham because individual communities have, in fact, ended up with less power and restrictions on their democratic freedom of speech; while there are fewer checks on the rapacity of greedy developers, and the myth of inflated housing figures goes unchallenged.

Our advice to all the main parties is to listen: the people who gave power to politicians will soon have the chance to take it away. We need and deserve representatives who will protect our environment and heritage.

Michael and Beryl Temple , Sidmouth
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