THANK you to The Northern Echo for organising the debate on the future of local government held at the Gala Theatre, Durham City, on Sunday.

Recently, I have been thinking about the proposals for altering Durham councils. Having looked at all the information which has come through my door, I decided to attend the debate.

Unfortunately, it seemed that most people in the audience had already made up their minds and were not prepared to listen to the points being made.

I, like many people around me, felt we could not ask the questions we wished to because of the constant shouting and heckling from some of the Liberal Democrat candidates and those accompanying them.

Most of the audience appeared to be made up of current councillors and their families, more interested in defending their positions and allowances, than in consulting with local people.

In this atmosphere I did not feel able to ask my question. I also do not think the event, which the LibDems appeared to stage manage, gives a true indication of the views of the people of the City of Durham.

I came away in agreement with our MP, Roberta Blackman-Woods, in wanting the best services possible.

Aurelia Smith, Durham.

THE arguments about a unitary authority are being conducted on three fronts: 1. Responsiveness to local issues.

Little has been heard from the "unitarists" on this. The prospect of a "remote" institution appears to be the widely-held view. No contest?

2. Democracy and opinion surveys - costs, procedures and justification.

Arguably it is both hypocritical and patronising for "unitarists" to criticise district councils for conducting their survey when this represents the only opportunity for the taxpayers to express their views.

A discreet and selective telephone survey (only 26.6 per cent in favour of unitary) is hardly a valid substitute.

3. Cost efficiencies. In the absence of cuts, services still have to be provided by someone, whoever pulls the strings. The larger the institution, the larger the salary bill, the more obscure the accounting, and the greater the scope for padding. Have we forgotten Parkinson's Law? Without targets, benchmarks and enforceable guarantees as to the claimed but unquantified (total £21m?) efficiency improvements I feel that a large pinch of salt is appropriate.

The conclusions are obvious.

Iain Fergusson, Pelton, Chesterle- Street, Co Durham.

I HAVE not yet either read nor heard a valid reason from any of our elected councillors or MPs as to why this Government considers itself justified in imposing a single unitary authority on County Durham without first attempting to democratically ascertain the wishes of the people they are supposed to represent.

Any of our democratically-elected representatives who supports or allows this imposition without protest is tarnishing the democratic process and giving up any last vestiges of the democratic principle they may have had.

Many of them will no doubt wish to sit on any new unitary authority, so can we then expect a democratic approach for our vote or will some other method of appointment be introduced?

John Routledge, Witton Gilbert, Durham.