MR Phil Watson, Chief Executive of Blackburn with Darwen Council, said that he expected no increase in salary if the borough got city status (Letters, September 10).

However, he didn't tell us that his salary is based on the total population of the town, not its status.

I know that the councillors of today cannot make commitments for those of tomorrow, but maybe the system of paying councillors could be changed. For instance, the payment could be based on the number of people who actually voted for the councillor - say, £5 a year per voter.

Thus, a councillor who persuaded, say, 1,000 people to vote for him would get £5,000 a year whereas one who only got 200 votes would only get £1,000.

Of course anomalies of size of the electorate per ward would have to be taken into account, but such a system would certainly ensure that the candidates put their electors first, not their parties.

L LAWES, Bold Street, Blackburn.

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