HAVING studied with interest the legal ruling on the British Airways strike ballot, and with the local elections fast approaching, may I point out the similarities and anomalies between the two issues?

Mrs Justice Laura Cox declared the ballot was illegal due to ballot papers being sent to 800 (of the 12,000) staff who were due to leave BA permanently within the following two to eight weeks.

Her ruling deemed these 800 were ineligible to vote. Contrast this with the local elections in Oxford (and other university cities) where ‘final year students’ may vote, despite the fact that most are leaving Oxford permanently four weeks later.

This equates to approximately 4,000 potential votes (excluding Brookes) whose selection of candidates the residents of the city must endure long after the finalists have gone.

It is significant that elected candidates from the minority political parties represent only those wards with a large student catchment area.

If the ballot box defines true democracy, then why the difference in interpreting the above issues?

MIKE TAYLOR, Observatory Street, Oxford