Fears council shake-up in England could spell end of independent-run areas

John Gallagher, the independent leader of Malvern Hills District Council, is also concerned about the plans.

Worcestershire County Council has asked the government to postpone May’s local elections so it can submit a proposal for one unitary authority to replace the seven existing councils in the area.

“When you make bigger councils that become more remote, you also have larger party machines operating at the bigger level more effectively,” he said.

He believes that larger structures would mean a bigger workload and “exclude” independents who are not professional politicians with the backing of a major party.

He added: “I think it’s less democracy because if you’re driven by national politics rather than local politics, the local communities would suffer as a result of that because whoever would be running the administration would be toeing the party line.”

He pointed out that Worcestershire County Council had been Conservative-run for years, while in Malvern Hills the council is run by a coalition of independents and Conservatives.

“If it were to go to unitary county, there would be no district council representation, there would be no independent voices,” he said.

“They would be a secondary voice because they wouldn’t be running the administration.”

A Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government spokesperson said: “Our council reorganisation plans will strengthen local democracy and empower local leaders to meet the needs of their communities.

“This will boost local accountability and save taxpayers’ money which can be reinvested into vital public services, as part of the biggest ever transfer of power away from Westminster.”