I have resisted writing a letter for several years now. However, after reading your letter of the week last week, my pen gasket blew.

Is it possible that the public, now seem to be administered, guided and governed by civil servants and their advisors who live within a bubble of ignorance? Where does one start? It is at this point helpful to wake up to the real reasons for social unrest. Governing bodies seem to unconsciously desire the divide and rule tactic when displaying power over their subjects and can be seen expressing themselves through public bodies such as British Waterways (a quango), and more recently through the local and even parish council.

Take, for example, parking in Devizes. It should be encouraged to help bolster trade. Local is the new way forward according to this government.

But the big out-of-town supermarkets and developers are very powerful lobbyists when vying for government attention. I have yet to see any councillor brave enough to challenge their hold over corporate expansion.

We only pay less for products from big companies because these companies monopolise how we shop.

In my seven years of living in rural Wiltshire I have seen many improvements for the benefit of only a few.

I, along with many others, will start asking those in charge of our livelihoods some serious questions as to why they fail to be able to create a society that allows us to feel included at all levels. As an example of the most obvious, we have the NHS and how inefficient it appears to be delivering local services.

We have long paid taxes to successive governments who get increasingly bigger and less accountable; it is now time for the people to demand value for money. Local councils should get smaller in their officialdom, and greater in their task of building a better community for the people.

Douglas Stanley, Honeystreet, Pewsey.