YOUR correspondent D James (Echo, February 14) calls for new blood in Bournemouth council.

Unfortunately the ‘democratic’ process does not permit us to vote for change until 2015.

At that point the major party machines will swing into action.

The state of the parties in local government is often reflected by opinion on national policy, effectively consigning local issues to the bottom of the electoral bin.

It would therefore seem irrelevant as to who we elect, as local government should only be responsible for local issues.

We pick a colour – red, yellow, blue, purple, whatever – and then sit back to suffer the consequences for another four years.

GEOFF COOPER Methuen Road, Bournemouth