SIR – The confirmation that Bradford will have a referendum on whether to have an elected mayor will be considered by many to be a positive move in handing more direct democratic power to its citizens.

However, should that proposal be approved, the problem then comes if the actual mayoral ballot includes the facility for postal votes.

Given the history of suspicious postal vote activity locally, it seems likely that any result will reflect somewhat less democracy than it should. Although it saddens me to say it, I know that I would not trust any result which involved postal voting.

So, perversely, voting for more democracy could end up producing less of it. That’s modern local politics, apparently.

Graham Hoyle, Kirkbourne Grove, Baildon