IT’S a privilege to be a councillor. It means the electorate trusted you to represent them, whatever their gender, colour or creed. And not only them but everyone in your ward.

Sometimes, councillors – many hard-working – are privy to confidential information and we trust them to make judgements in what they consider is in the best interests of all.

That responsibility requires judgement and moral fairness.

And there is a level of expectancy within the community about the way councillors behave. They are accountable to the electorate they serve and should set examples.

Even to someone with the political acumen of a pea, it is surely plain that forwarding racist text message jokes does not meet the standards expected. Yet that is what Bournemouth Cllr Richard Powell did.

This language school consultant – in contact, you might think, with many ethnic groups – thought it appropriate to forward on a series of such jokes over a six-month period. Presumably, he found them amusing?

Now, after an initial suspension, the Conserv- ative Party has reinstated him as a member.

And Bournemouth Council has cleared him of bringing it into disrepute. How forgiving.

In his favour, Cllr Powell, aged 24, was quick to say he was sorry and has agreed to attend an equality and diversity training course.

His bigger challenge will be to show that he now understands the privilege the voters of Westbourne and West Cliff granted to him.

And prove to them that they did not elect a councillor as bigoted as his nasty jokes.