I AM obliged to Mr Kent (Review, July1 ) for drawing my attention to Dr Pearson's letter of June 24. His nit-picking reliance on bureaucratic procedures in defence of the way St. Briavels PC has 'ejected' a well-respected councillor simply serves to underline the points that Dr Pearson has made.

I note that Mr Kent did not identify any factual error in Dr Pearson's letter. I also note that his letter was not co-signed by an elected member of the PC. Perhaps this is an example (however well-intended) of a parish clerk exercising quasi-executive powers?

If so, this is another example of a worrying trend to enhance the status of parish clerks at the expense of the elected councillors in general and the chairman in particular.

It must be the bedrock of local democracy that the link between the electors and those they elect is given primacy at all times. If recent information is correct this is being undermined by the GAPTC (Gloucestershire Association of Parish and Town Councils) who seem to be advising that parish clerks should be regarded as managers.

Food for thought, I suggest.

– Peter Jones, Lower Cross, Clearwell.