NICK Bent’s incoherent letter, Guardian, February 20, hardly merits reply. He states as a fact that the Lib Dems had a plan to co-opt a Tory to fill the vacancy on Appleton Parish Council. There was no such plan. Mr Bent has simply made this up and it is untrue.

We had not given any thought to co-option to fill the vacancy because we were certain that Labour would call an election. The aggressive behaviour of their candidate, who had just started attending parish council meetings as a member of the public, made that abundantly clear. A by-election rules out co-option.

So let’s get the facts straight. Mr Bent called the by-election, which will cost Appleton Parish Council about £5,500, for purely political reasons. That is fair enough, but at least he could have the honesty to admit it.

Clr Judith Walker Appleton