RACHAEL MASKELL voted with her constituents and defied her party.

In 1958, I was the youngest unmarried female councillor in the country on Northallerton UDC, usurped by Gwynethe Dunwoody about six months later.

I too defied my party ad voted with my heart not my head.

I stood as an independent at the following election, falling from second place to third.

I felt then, and still do, that politics should not come into things. Sadly, they do.

Rachael's decision showed courage and honesty. Good for her.

Pamela Frankland, Hull Road, Dunnington, York