AS citizens and voters in the City of York Council elections, we believe that the war in Iraq has created a hell on earth for the Iraqi people, that shames our country and distorts our lives.

We know - because they tell us week after week - that this belief is shared by hundreds of fellow York electors.

We therefore say to the candidates standing in the elections under the banner of national parties, that if they want the votes of many hundreds of active, dedicated electors, they must commit themselves publicly to bringing pressure to bear on their parties to start removing the British military presence in Iraq immediately.

In addition to the cost and shattered lives of Iraqis and British military personnel, there is a daily war expenditure of £2,360,000, according to the Ministry of Defence.

The sum - amounting to £32 billion over the four years - does not include military wages. This continual bleeding of the British economy impoverishes us all.

What is spent on this pointless war cannot be spent on health, or education, or policing, or environmental protection, or help for the disadvantaged and elderly.

All candidate councillors know that achieving significant improvement in city services depends on the city receiving extra central Government funds.

Those, in turn, depend upon this country disengaging itself from the purposeless war. Those seeking election must let their party's leaders and the electors of York know where they stand on bringing the UK occupation of Iraq to a rapid end.

We request and urge them to publish their stance in The Press.

David Matthews, Maurice Vassie, Jeremy Connolly, Bernard Thurlow, John Heawood, Joyce Pickard, S Davis, C Fuller, P Brar, Mark Kesteven, Marjorie Martleman, Jean Churm, Patrick Black.

York Against the War, c/o Friends Meeting House, Friargate, York.