It was shocking to read that Jenny Barnard-Langston had been secretly investigated by the standards committee following a complaint from a member of the public (The Argus, August 25).

Happily she was vindicated. But now that the number of councillors has been reduced by one third so that most wards have just two councillors for the public to call on, it is imperative all councillors take heed of this startling story.

For too long there has been a quiet acceptance by political parties that some of their councillors will be little more than bench fodder, obediently voting along party lines.

Within the new intake elected in May there are already councillors who should be taking note of what happened to Jenny Barnard-Langston.

If it could happen to such a deeply committed former councillor, then the slackers had better buck up their ideas now.

I believe that "passenger" councillors who take the £8,000 and double the workload of other councillors sharing their ward should be removable.

Sadly, we are stuck with them.

-Valerie Paynter, Hove