CHARLES JOHNSON, the Cleveland and Darlington Conservative Party chairman, wrote about my decision to leave the Liberal Democrats and become an independent.

Firstly, I am not a member of Durham County Council and never have been. I have been a member of Spennymoor Town Council for ten years.

Consequentially I can’t resign from an organisation that I don’t belong to. Nice to see the local Conservative Party’s intellectual level is as high as ever.

Secondly, I don’t recall seeing many Conservatives resigning their council seats after joining from other parties although that might be because councillors aren’t joining the Conservatives.

They are leaving the Tories to join Ukip.

Thirdly, even if I did resign there would not be a by-election, as no by-elections are held in the six months prior to the full local elections because it would be a waste of thousands in taxpayers money.

For someone who is the chairman of Cleveland and Darlington Conservative Party, you would have thought he would know as this as it’s pretty basic stuff.

Councillor Martin Jones (Ind), Spennymoor Town Council