THE 'one person, one vote' principle is the pillar of democracy in Great Britain.

But as anyone who has stepped into a polling station during council elections will know, it is rarely this simple in practice.

Instead, voters are presented with a selection of candidates they do not know – and often have not heard of – for town councils, district councils and county councils, sometimes alongside a choice of candidates for the European Parliament as well.

This is, no doubt, one of the reasons turnout at the last county council elections in 2013 was just 23 per cent in Oxfordshire, while in Oxford elections for the city council were only 36.5 per cent.

The turnout for General Elections is usually double this.

Why? Because most people struggle to connect with councils or what they actually do, even though they are in charge of the services that most directly impact on people's lives – like taking away their bins and running waste centres, funding leisure centres, maintaining our roads and protecting the children and adults who cannot look after themselves.

These are vitally important duties. And anything that simplifies how they are delivered can only be a good thing.

But Oxfordshire's councils must be careful. Now is not the time for political empire building.

We need a sensible debate about what is best for the people of Oxfordshire – it is they, after all, who will make the final decision.