THE new Durham County Council unitary authority is large and powerful and covers the area of four or five MPs.

One of the reasons for its creation was that it would give the area more power and influence.

In that case, why do we need MPs when we have a unitary council? The leader of the council is in a much more powerful position than any of our local MPs, so why not get rid of them?

Their pay and expenses could be used for the benefit of the people of County Durham.

Now to the question of the Area Action Partnerships (AAPs), which are designed to give people a say in the decisionmaking process in the absence of the borough and district councils which were merged into the new unitary authority. The AAPs seem just like mini district councils.

To confirm this, Communities and Local Government Secretary Hazel Blears (Echo, April 16) said: “The fact that they (AAPs) will have their own budgets and decision-making powers will make them much more than just a talking shop.”

I rest my case.

Philip Wolstenholme, Durham.