I ALWAYS thought that people opt to become politicians to work for the common good of their electorate and not for monetary reward or power.

Tony Hooke has been an exemplary councillor, seeking to improve Andover and foregoing reward. His benevolence towards Neighbourcare is tremendous and should be applauded. His efforts to get improvement to the town centre shows someone who cares about his electorate.

It is a great pity that some people have chosen to have a go at him. Please note that I do not belong to UKIP and have only met Tony Hooke on three occasions, but I do recognise his work ethic.

It seems as though the majority of today’s politicians, whether councillors or MPs, are more interested in the power that they can wield and forget why they were elected.

We hope that we elect a politician to defend and promote our wellbeing.

Too often a politician’s main objective is to determine what he or she thinks is best for the people, and not what the electorate wants or what they promised during electioneering.

I, like many others, am fed up with having decisions foisted upon us that we do not want.

It is time that we, the public, pay more attention to our duty and privilege by taking part in all election ballots. In casting our vote we should think not about the political parties and their propaganda, but about the prospective candidate and what he or she might do to promote the wellbeing of the electorate.

Keith Cezair, address supplied