Last updated 11:37, Tuesday, 13 May 2008

I WAS shocked to hear that councillor Ray Bloxham had been voted out of his position as deputy leader of the city council.

Ray Bloxham: The former deputy leader of Carlisle City Council will be an ‘impossible act to follow’ says Margaret Drury

His integrity and breadth of experience and knowledge, allied to his capacity for hard work, will be greatly missed in this role by the city council in general, including opposition councillors, and the Conservative group in particular.

His will be an impossible act to follow and I would question how the newly-elected deputy leader, councillor John Mallinson, already a county councillor, can undertake the role successfully, given that numerous county and city council meetings take place at the same time.

Also, in occupying a seat on both councils, might this run the risk of conflicts of interest?

MRS MARGARET DRURY

Brampton