Sir – As Martin Thomas and Rosanne Bostock have already indicated (Letters, February 17 and 3) it is time for a shake-up of our local government system and a restructuring of local authorities to provide a fairer and more representative system.

Never has the need for local government reform been more urgent or necessary.

With the Coalition Government’s localism bill, decentralisation and proposals for ‘big society’, the role of local government and its impact on our day-to-day lives is growing.

Yet how many of us feel represented by the current county council and its longstanding Conservative leader?

Here in the city of Oxford, where our councillors are exclusively Labour, Lib Dem or Green, we feel that the Conservative-led county council is not only unrepresentative, but fails to recognise the city’s particular needs or priorities. As Martin Thomas states, the city of Oxford has little in common with the rest of the county, whether socially, economically or politically, and it is therefore absurd that decisions about how the city is run should be made by rural councillors who do not represent our views.

As we are faced with widespread cuts of our local services, implemented with little or no consultation, at the same time as our council taxes are due to rise, it is time to question whether local democracy is working or whether we need a review of local government structures and representation.

At present Mr Mitchell is able to implement unpopular cuts to city services in a quite undemocratic fashion, knowing he has no need to count on the city’s votes. He would do well to listen to the concerns of the city’s population, however, before the increasingly frustrated citizens of Oxford follow the global trend for more direct action. Could it be time for revolution in Bonn Square?

Dr E. Skinner, Oxford