Robin King's letter (Advertiser, Auguist 29) trying to defend the Labour group's plans for a referendum on an elected mayor is weak.

The cost of this process could be £50,000 or more.

Even his own councillors have lined up their own ducks (but not Robin's) in saying it is a vapid exercise in terms of the possible outcomes.

The worrying thing is that Robin's Government has set the wording of the referendum question and seems to want a vote for a mayor - presumably so that the buck for the continuing shortcomings of its councillors can be passed to someone else.

People who work in local government are worried that the changes Labour want to see will be a recipe for secrecy.

Robin should ask himself why his own political representatives regard themselves as being forced by their own Government into an expensive waste of money, chasing changes which will be of no benefit to local people.

It's another example of the control freakery at the heart of New Labour.

The sad thing is that we're all paying through our council tax for these pet projects of theirs.

Councillor Gavin Smithers

Rockford Close

Oakenshaw South