I'm making a personal appeal to Dorset Council to immediately abandon its policy of 'partisan politics'.

Its Tory councillors clearly still believe that only a Cabinet comprised entirely of their ilk can cope with the problems that are going to hit us soon.

Your readers will remember the angst West Dorset District Council caused Dorchester's and Bridport's citizens some years ago when even their auditors criticised the way their decisions were being made by too few, on false hopes and at our cost.

By first a petition and then by a subsequent local referendum, we obligated them to using a Committee system of governance which prevailed up satisfactorily until the formation of the Unitary Authority now known as Dorset Council.

Although Tory councillors won only a small majority in the new council and despite having been granted the opportunity to continue with the more democratic committee system, they spurned the opportunity of behaving with goodwill and went back to their inexplicably divisive ways.

Isn't it time for them to give up their party political stance at least for the next year and join together with all of the other political parties in finding ways for us to survive Covid-19 collectively?

This is the time when our ideas and plans for the future must, I repeat must, incorporate better ways for our children to live out their future lives. Nature has given us a wake-up call that we ignore at our peril.

My sincere and honest wish is that its leader and the seven Tory members of its cabinet seriously consider Dorset Council agreeing to sharing both their responsibilities and the emoluments they receive with seven councillors representing other political affiliations.

Friendships, forgiveness and cooperation will ensue. By putting aside the false securities of political slogans and ideologies, we can discover new and more profitable ways of living together.

While doctors and nurses of the NHS are selflessly risking their lives daily, how can we even countenance political divisiveness in any of its forms?

If my proposal is executed in the spirit that it is made, I'm sure we would all be better off supporting and trusting a consensus local government which will make decisions for the benefit of us all, not the few.

I'd even be prepared to kiss every one of them when we are free of risk.

Mike Joslin

Dorchester