IN YOUR extremely unbalanced report, Survey Complete For Split Decision, on the Hextable referendum (News Shopper, March 15), a Swanley councillor implies all the unreturned survey forms from Hextable, about half of the total, are to be regarded as no' votes.
On the other hand, three-quarters of the Swanley forms were not returned simply because "the vast majority of people in Swanley did not see it as their problem".
It is more likely after the strength of the original petition for a referendum, many villagers regarded the matter as all but settled.
The rate of return was still high in comparison with local elections.
If Councillor David Coates' split logic represents the Swanley mindset, no wonder so many wish to escape.
In my previous letter to News Shopper in October, I described the inclusion of outsiders in the design of the survey as "tantamount to gerrymandering". This now seems to have been an understatement.
M Rainer, Plantation Road, Hextable
Editor's note: The story was fair and balanced, putting both sides of the argument across.
What do you think? Write to News Shopper, Mega House, Crest View Drive, Petts Wood, Orpington, Kent, BR5 1BT. Alternatively, email newsshopper_ letters@london.newsquest.co.uk or fax 01689 875367.
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