Sir – Like Oxford council leader, Bob Price, I believe in unitary (all-purpose) councils (Report, April 24). They are assuredly the future — although as a member of the UK Liberal Party, I think that they should be much smaller than Bob Price’s ideal.
However, if he thinks that Oxford would become all-purpose under a Labour Government, he hasn’t studied very recent history. The last centralising Labour Government abolished dozens of district councils, including those of cities as large as Durham and Shrewsury and made seven counties and half-counties unitary.
However, for the 2010 General Election, many other districts in the West and East Anglia, including Norwich and Exeter, would also have lost their councils. My guess is that its creature, the Boundary Committee, would then have turned its attention to the small counties of the south Midlands, and Oxford council would have lost its remaining power.
And, in 2015, the deeply conservative and controlling party, Labour, will not have changed.
Incidentally, your correspondent’s total of 55 English unitaries is augmented by 36 metropolitan councils which have the same powers.
Roger Jenking, Headington