SIR – I’m catching up with the correspondence between Worcester’s Labour MP and his Tory opponent on the future governance of the county and city councils.

Two years ago Mike Foster supported the case for Worcestershire to be a unitary authority advocated by the county council’s Tory leader George Lord. What Mike didn’t mention at the time was the efforts by the Labour group at County Hall to get this issue on the agenda. What we know now is that if the plan had been put into effect the people of Worcestershire would be benefiting from savings of some £15 million a year.

It was only after pressure from the county’s Tory MPs that Tory county councillors withdrew their support for the plan.

For the last two years the Labour group at County Hall has continued to press for a cross-party approach to examine ways of improving local services and reducing costs. We should be suspicious of why the Tory leadership has suddenly decided to set up such a working group.

Tinkering with computer systems and administration of payments and benefits has produced only marginal savings. What is needed is for all local authorities in the county to agree a programme of change which will transfer operational responsibility for each service to whichever council is best placed to deliver them least expensively.

The Tory hopeful Robin Walker attacks Mike Foster’s apparent statement regarding the future of the city council. There is no agenda by any party to implement such a change.

John Buckley,

County councillor,

Leader of the Labour Group,

Gorse Hill and Warndon.