THE strong message given out by the Archbishop of York, urging people not to vote BNP, plus your wide coverage (BNP sparks alert from Archbishop, The Press, May 1) would have reached the eyes and ears of many prospective voters.

Voting is the democratic right of each adult citizen and, equally, it is a very personal matter. Also, people are, in my opinion, sick and tired of being patronised and told by the authorities, and those in high-profile offices, what they can and what they cannot do.

The people of York are quite capable, and intelligent enough, to make up their own minds who they want to represent them in local government.

I can understand Dr Sentamu's sentiments. His country (Uganda) is similar in many ways to my own (Papua New Guinea).

In particular, the racist regime suffered by the citizens of my country was appalling, and these practices continued up to, and even after, independence in 1975.

Be that as it may, I still feel people should be free to have a clear mind and elect the candidate of their choice. After all, the BNP is a legal entity, and it does have a charter to field candidates in an election.

You can change the law easily enough, but not the way people think.

J H Roy, Hadrian Avenue, York.