The Liberal Democrats' proposal for a referendum on the Front Garden issue may or may not prove popular, however this raises fundamental democratic questions.

Any referendum has difficulties, who will compile and what will be the question?

How would any resultbe interpreted and would it be mandatory on have any authority?

Edward Heath took us into Europe through legislation, the National Referendum of the Wilson Government which followed shows the pitfalls.

Few of us who campaigned against it recognised that for the Common Market to make economic sense and to create a level playing field between states it would require eventual monetary and political union.

We lost that vote against, when the propaganda from money poured in by the powerful press and big business influenced the vote.

As democrats we accepted that flawed decision.

The clear lesson to be learnt is, we live in a representative democracy.

We periodically elect people to make decisions on our behalf, at subsequent elections we can give our verdict on the representatives' performances. Just as a referee or umpire's decision is final, especially when they are wrong, the council's should be accepted for that is what representative democracy means.

Similarly, councillors have the responsibility to make their decision on the land adjacent to the M4 within the laid down procedures, to pass the buck would be a dereliction of their duties.

BRIAN V COCKBILL

Hadrians Close

Coleview

Swindon