Sir – Your analysis of the county council results was not the penetrating one expected of The Oxford Times. Indeed, you appear to have missed the most astonishing aspect of the results and one which has implications for the future of governance in Oxford.

Oxford was almost certainly the only place in Britain where the Labour Party gained seats; Labour gained four county seats from both the Greens and Liberal Democrats. Analysis of voting in the city shows Labour first with 20,437 votes, followed by the Liberal Democrats (17,961), the Greens (15,783) and the Tories last with 14,004 votes.

I have discounted the small number of votes garnered by the UKIP and independent candidates. While there’s no denying the Conservative success out in the county, this election has underlined once again their abysmal record in Oxford, even in a generally brilliant election for them.

Given the voting figures in Oxford, I was surprised that The Oxford Times made no attempt to understand why Labour did so well. Doubtless there are many and varied reasons, including public perceptions of how well the party has run the city council over the last year and the quality of their candidates, but the fact remains that, notwithstanding the wishes of the people of Oxford, many of their key services will continue to be run by Conservatives who have no stake or interest in the city.

The argument for a unitary authority in Oxford, responsible for schools, roads, transport, libraries, planning and social services is an overwhelming one. I hope that our local politicians will continue to press for this essential change.

Stuart Skyte, Oxford