Just to clarify the points raised by Terry Chivers about committee places at West Wilts. Terry's letter to the Wiltshire Times was headlined Warning: This man is not going away.

No one wants Cllr Chivers to go away. Like all councillors, Terry can attend and speak at any and every committee if he wants to. He remains a member of his area committee, which is where as a good ward councillor he can raise any issues he likes.

Nor is the change in committee places the fault of the Liberal Democrats. The recent by-election in Melksham gave the Conservatives one more councillor. The gods of mathematics then have to be invoked to redistribute committee places in favour of the Tories. Liberal Democrats have lost three places, and as a side-effect, Terry, as an independent, lost one.

Terry is wrong to say the Lib Dems have "voted him off". No such vote has been taken. To correct another point. Terry refers to a previous occasion when an independent member threatened to take the council to court to challenge the laws of mathematics as interpreted by council officers. This could have meant lots of taxpayers' money going into the pockets of lawyers. The council decided simply to create one more place on the policy committee thus satisfying both the gods and the independents.

If Terry wants a particular committee place I see no reason why this couldn't be done again, though it would need the consent of the various group leaders.

The situation at West Wilts is so fiendishly complicated because our five independents are so independent they won't work with, each other and have formed two groups of two plus Terry on his own. I understand Terry has threatened to join the Conservatives, and while it would be strange and sad to see him on the opposition benches it would at least simplify the mathematics.

Trevor Carbin,

Deputy leader West Wilts District Council,

Church Street,

Hilperton.