ALONG with all supporters of the Conservative Party I was extremely disappointed at the results of the election. As election agent for Boscombe West (and constituency resident) I was particularly saddened that Philip Stanley-Watts, who has served us brilliantly for many years, lost his seat.

However, any feeling of sadness I may have is far outweighed by sheer anger. Firstly, that the delay in the distribution of the postal vote letters almost certainly impacted on the result in Boscombe West (and other constituencies) – particularly given that this was so close. Indeed, I even considered suggesting that we start the legal process to call for a re-election (which we would have been well within our rights to do) but given the cost and disruption this would have caused, it seemed better not to do so. I sincerely hope that a formal inquiry is held to find out how this debacle happened and ensure the person responsible is held to account, and I will be contacting BCP to press for this.

Secondly, overall, the turnout was a shameful 30 per cent and I find this totally disgusting. There are, even in this day and age, countries in this world where there are no free elections – I can only guess at how people from those areas would feel about those treating this privilege with such utter disdain.

Worse still are women who don't bother to vote. Suffragettes suffered the most horrific treatment whilst fighting for the right to vote. This didn't deter any of them and many were brutally force fed in prison time after time. Emily Davison threw herself under the King's horse to draw attention to the fight for the rights of women, and lost her life in the attempt – I wonder if she would think the sacrifice of her life was worthwhile for a paltry 30 per cent turnout?

Shame on each and everyone of you who could not be bothered to make the effort to vote – you don't deserve to live in a free country.

NANCY CURTIS, Sea Road, Boscombe