Sir, – I was pleased to see Leyburn Council responding to my concerns about money being wasted on needless elections.

I have read its explanation (D&S, Oct 17) several times and still can't make much sense of it, although it does show the situation to be even worse than I thought, and it did confirm my expectation that "regulations" would be given as the reason for the fiasco.

It seems that the town council is putting the blame on Richmondshire District Council. This explains a lot as the performances of this body, well-documented in the D&S over recent years, make it an outstanding candidate for the title of the country`s most dysfunctional local council.

DENIS McALLISTER

Market Place, Leyburn.