THE party political conference season has arrived once again.

The best case scenario is for the voting public to see the parties who seek their votes testing out their new policies in the heat of open and public debate, having the integrity and maturity to own up to their genuine differences and showing their capability to lead public opinion in addressing society’s ills.

The worst case scenario is to see political parties falling out on fundamental issues, desperately trying to cover up their differences and bury the bad news through management, blatant denial and media flotsam.

Respect for politicians can only be rebuilt if they can prove their integrity to stand up for their principles, even when those principles hurt them electorally.

Our current political system badly fails the test of integrity, not just because the first past the post voting system almost sets in stone regional electoral trends, rather than reflecting the full range of local political opinion: but also because local party political groups close ranks by ‘protecting’ their members, even when those individual councillors have flouted the boundaries of reasonable behaviour.

The standards boards can only judge in-council behaviour and so are ineffective in ensuring proper accountability and often even fail to adequately question councillors’ contributions to the decision-making process itself.

Electors meanwhile have no power to demand by elections, that remains firmly in the hands of the politicians themselves. Politics, especially local politics, is desperately in need of a rigorous ‘spring clean’.

But until the public show more active interest in them and are given the constitutional clout to hold politicians and political parties to account there won't be much change.

Anyone in Bridport up for a vigorous by-election to liven things up? It certainly needs it.

COUN RICHARD DENTON-WHITE Fortuneswell Portland